President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and President of Latvia Egils Levits discussed the topic of criminal proceeds related to ex-officials of Ukraine, which were withdrawn to Latvian banks from Ukraine.
“A separate topic of today's conversation is criminal proceeds related to ex-officials of Ukraine, which were withdrawn to Latvian banks from Ukraine. We are committed to active bilateral cooperation in this regard. This also applies to the issue of returning assets on which there is already a relevant court decision, as well as the search for other assets that could have been illegally withdrawn from Ukraine to Latvia,” the President said after negotiations with Egils Levits.
At the same time, the President of Latvia noted that it was necessary to wait for a court decision. There also was an agreement according to which Ukrainian side had to provide the necessary evidence to resolve this issue.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy also said that he had discussed difficulties in the work of Latvian business in Ukraine with the Latvian party. The President stressed that protection of foreign investors was one of the priorities for the Ukrainian State.
“During this short period we have already succeeded in some cases of Latvian companies that attempted raiding and lawlessness. Ukrainian justice re-established its justice. I am sure that this tendency will continue in the cases of other affected companies,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
According to the President, this demonstrates the beginning of positive changes in our country and improvement of the business climate.
In addition, Volodymyr Zelenskyy invited the Latvian business to invest in Ukraine, which has been currently built by the new Government.
During the negotiations the Head of State stressed the importance of judicial reform. “We need changes in Ukraine, so we need new judges,” the President of Ukraine said during a meeting with the President of Latvia.
For his part, the President of Latvia emphasized the implementation of reforms in Ukraine, in particular in the judicial sphere. “We understand that it is hard and these are complicated changes since the judicial culture is changing longer. Therefore, these reforms will change the legal thinking ” he said.
Egils Levits added that Latvia had gone this route and it was ready to share its experience with Ukraine.
The President of Latvia also noted that the energy issues were discussed during the meeting, in particular the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which posed a threat to Ukraine.
