Latvian President comments on call not to approve withdrawal from Istanbul Convention

The Latvian President promised that he would carefully consider the decision on whether to sign the decision adopted by the Seimas on Latvia’s withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention.

As Delfi reports, “European Pravda” writes, this was stated by Edgars Rinkėvičs’ communications advisor Martins Dregeris.

The advisor noted that the president would carefully assess the Seimas’ decision on the country’s withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention and would separately announce his decision.

He added that Rinkėvičs would be guided by “state and legal, not ideological or political considerations.”

As we will recall, on October 30, the Latvian Seimas approved in the second final reading a bill on denunciation of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence, also known as the Istanbul Convention.

Now, within 10 days, Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs must make a decision: approve the law or return it for reconsideration to the Seimas.

In the context of the adoption of the draft law, Rinkēvičs said that he had three instruments of action, but did not describe each of them in detail.