“Transit freight doesn’t stay in Latvia and for Latvian consumption. Cereals go through our country’s territory for consumers in other countries,” as BNN was told by politologist Filips Rajevskis, commenting on the recently reported claims of Latvia still importing Russian grain. He adds that the word import really doesn’t fit here, since Latvia does not procure cereals from Russia.
Discussions regarding a so far completely legal ban on imports of Russian cereals to EU countries continued in Brussels this week. However, this ban would not apply to transit of Russian cereals through the EU to third countries at risk of famine.
In his interview to BNN, Rajevskis said: “If we need to weaken Russia, then we need to impose an EU-wide blockade to make sure Russian cereals never leave Russia. It’s not something a single country can do. The road through Latvia will close, but there will be other roads. This is not the way to weaken Russia.”
According to what LDz Cargo board member Mārtiņš Pevko told TV3 programme Nekā personīga, railway-carried cereals go to Denmark, Nigeria, Belgium, Spain, Morocco, Italy, France, Salvador, Cote D’ivoire, Turkey, Israel, Mexico, Burkina Faso. According to the Food and Veterinary Service, the biggest recipients of Russian cereals in Europe are Belgium, Netherlands and Spain.
Rajevskis stresses: “The dilemma in the air this whole time was whether or not these cereals should be available on the global market at all. If we want to weaken Russia, the ban should exist at least on an EU level. This is not a choice of individual countries. Latvia cannot change this situation alone, because these cereals will still be carried while there is no general ban.”
The politologist also said that although it won’t be possible to carry cereals through Russian sea ports to Europe because Russian ships won’t be allowed to enter European sea ports, imports of Russian cereals to Europe would still be possible through third countries. “If there is no general ban, this form of freight will still go through in transit, through Lithuania, for example. This variant exists because there are transit roads, and goods keep moving in and out. Especially food products, which are not under sanctions, since no one sanctions food products. By imposing sanctions on food, we risk leaving some people hungry.”
When asked to comment if imports of Russian cereals to Europe and other countries could be lowered by Latvia’s decision to ban them from entering its territory, the politologist said that such a measure won’t yield any tangible results. “These grain shipments will go through Klaipeda in Lithuania or some Finnish sea ports. There will be other roads that will go around Latvia. This is not the way to weaken Russia. The only way we can weaken Russia is by taking away their money. If there is no money, what will they do with their economy? So far sanctions have resulted in Russia earning half a trillion dollars selling hydrocarbons, which is completely wrong, because it lets them spend money on the war against Ukraine, buy arms and build up their military infrastructure. Cereals in this context are a small, insignificant unit,” Rajevskis told BNN.
One option, he mentioned, would be significantly inflating duties, which is something Latvia can do without coordination with Brussels.
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BNN INTERVIEW | Filips Rajevskis: Latvian corridor will be closed, but there will be other roads. This is not the way to weaken Russia
