Foreign Ministry spokesperson Omonulla Fayziev said the Uzbek Embassy in Riga had held several meetings and talks with Latvian officials after Latvia’s Interior Ministry proposed temporarily restricting visa issuance to Uzbek citizens.

Latvian Interior Minister Jānis Dombrava had proposed discussing the issue at a Cabinet meeting on September 29. He cited cases in which several Uzbek citizens allegedly committed crimes, including offenses against minors, shortly after arriving in Latvia.

Dombrava proposed suspending visa issuance to Uzbek citizens for a set period while Latvia worked with Uzbekistan to prevent people considered a potential threat to public order and security from entering the country.

The issue was not placed on the Cabinet’s agenda because coalition partners of the National Alliance were not prepared to support its inclusion. The Interior Ministry had expected it to be considered at a subsequent meeting.

Latvia’s Interior Ministry had earlier proposed accepting visa applications only from certain categories of Uzbek citizens, including family members of Latvian citizens or Uzbek nationals holding residence rights in Latvia, as well as family members of citizens of the European Union, European Economic Area countries or Switzerland. The proposed exemptions also covered people traveling for humanitarian reasons and Uzbek citizens working for freight and passenger transport companies.

Uzbekistan responds

Fayziev said the Foreign Ministry began diplomatic efforts immediately after reports emerged about the proposed visa restrictions.

The Uzbek Embassy in Riga held meetings with officials from the Latvian prime minister’s office, the foreign and economy ministries, as well as representatives of the president’s administration. The Foreign Ministry’s Department of Consular and Legal Affairs also held talks with the Latvian Embassy in Uzbekistan.

“During the talks, the Uzbek side conveyed its position on the possible impact of the proposed measures on bilateral relations,” Fayziev said.

He added that following the diplomatic efforts, the Latvian side informed Uzbekistan that there was no need to change the existing procedures.