The recent policies of the Latvian government in regards to seizing the largest sea ports and the planned dismissal of the Riga legislature will push the country into the worst political and economic crisis since 1991, the former mayor of the Latvian capital of Riga, Nils Usakovs, said on Monday
RIGA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th December, 2019) The recent policies of the Latvian government in regards to seizing the largest sea ports and the planned dismissal of the Riga legislature will push the country into the worst political and economic crisis since 1991, the former mayor of the Latvian capital of Riga, Nils Usakovs, said on Monday."I believe, Latvia is about to face the worst political and economic crisis since 1991. The only way to overcome this crisis is for all sane people to unite. Otherwise, these insane adventurers will finish off our country completely," Usakovs said on Facebook.
He denounced the incumbent government's recent policies as counterproductive and harmful for the country, especially its decision to take over the country's two largest sea ports - Riga and Ventspils - and, possibly, dismiss the Riga legislature.
"In total, Latvia might lose an approximate 20,000 jobs for qualified and decently renumerated workers. I am terrified to even think about impact for the GDP," Usakovs said.
On December 9, the US Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions on 17 individuals and 29 companies from Serbia, Latvia, Cambodia and Venezuela under the Magnitsky Act, among them the mayor of Ventspils, Aivars Lembergs. The Latvian politician then announced stepping down as the board member of the Ventspils free port.
Next day, Latvian Prime Minister Arturs Krisjanis Karins announced that control over the ports of Riga and Ventspils would be taken over by the government in order to keep them functioning amid the US sanctions.
On Friday, the government is also expected to discuss dissolving the Riga legislature over its failure to deliver its Primary responsibility of waste disposal. The final decision on this matter is in the jurisdiction of the Latvian parliament.
