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Zdanoka often repeats Kremlin line
Latvian prosecutors have not elaborated on their investigation into Zdanoka’s activities.
Among other things, however, Zdanoka is accused of parroting Russian propaganda about supposed rights violations against ethnic Russians in the Baltics, a line the Kremlin has pushed for years regarding, among others, Latvia and Estonia — both formerly part of the Soviet Union (USSR) — and their 25% ethnic Russian minorities.
In 2022, Russia used the pretext of needing to come to the aid of abused ethnic Russians in eastern Ukraine as justification for its invasion.
Zdanoka, a Riga native and the daughter of a Soviet naval officer, is a member of the Latvian Russian Union (LRU) party and has always wholly endorsed the aggressive policies of Russian President Vladimir Putin — openly supporting both his illegal 2014 annexation of Crimea and his 2022 invasion of neighboring Ukraine.
Latvia fears Putin could target unhappy Russian minority
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After an early career that saw her advocate against Latvian independence and then for a coup against the government of the Latvian SSR, Zdanoka has consistently advocated for much closer ties between the Baltics and Russia, and against NATO.
In Strasbourg, she has shown support for Russia’s annexation of Crimea; and on March 2, 2022, she was one of only 13 European Parliamentarians refusing to condemn Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine — a stance that saw her ejected from the European Greens-European Free Alliance bloc.
Zdanoka, whose website lists her as president of the EU Russian-Speakers’ Alliance, an NGO, has also been criticized for backing disputed elections inside Russia as well as in separatist regions in Ukraine.
js/wd (AP, dpa)
Source link : https://www.dw.com/en/latvia-probes-eu-lawmaker-for-kremlin-spying/a-68592529
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Publish date : 2024-03-16 07:00:00
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