During his term as Prime Minister, Krisjanis Karins is said to have traveled several times by charter flight instead of a scheduled flight. He is now drawing conclusions from the allegations.
Latvia’s Foreign Minister Krisjanis Karins has resigned over allegations related to official flights. After a conversation with Prime Minister Evika Silina, he announced that he would resign from office on April 10th.
Parliament could then decide on his successor the next day, said the Foreign Minister of the Baltic EU and NATO country that borders Russia since mid-September 2023. He then left the government building without another word.
Karins recently came under criticism for charter flights during his term as prime minister. The 59-year-old was Latvia’s head of government from 2019 to 2023 and is said to have made around three dozen trips abroad on private planes instead of scheduled flights during this time. The public prosecutor’s office had therefore initiated criminal proceedings the previous week regarding the possible waste of public money, but these were not directed against him personally.
Karins had rejected the allegations that had been circulating for months. The flights were necessary to save time or to be able to quickly return to Latvia for government business. The politician from the liberal-conservative Jauna Vienotiba party initially refused to resign.
Silina said that Karins acted responsibly and took political responsibility in light of the criminal proceedings surrounding the flights. Karins’ party colleague says she doesn’t yet have a candidate to succeed him.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
