Grain and other products from Russia-occupied Ukrainian territories should be subject to sanctions, Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics said at a press conference in Kyiv on Saturday.

“Food and medical products are not included in the sanction package. But I think that issues of grain or other food products originating from the occupied territories of Ukraine should still be taken into account in the sanction mechanism,” he said.

Rinkevics recalled that it is equally important to coordinate the implementation of the 11 sanction packages adopted by the EU, checking the origin of certain goods and coordinating these actions with the sanctions of other countries. In his opinion, it is necessary to continue working towards verifying the origin of products.

Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte added that Russian propaganda is trying to prevent the introduction of sanctions on agricultural products from the occupied territories under the guise of the need to supply countries in need of food.

She noted that the problem of food supply has indeed grown, but because of the war unleashed by Russia. At the same time, the head of the Lithuanian government emphasized, it is a matter of principle that Russia does not benefit from the invasion.

“To prevent Putin from being able to benefit from what he stole ... That is why we need to strengthen the appropriate control mechanisms,” Simonyte said.

According to her, with the help of customs, border and other services, it is necessary to eliminate such gaps in compliance with sanctions, especially with the use of countries neighboring Russia and their trade in dual-use products.