Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs met with his compatriot from Liechtenstein Dominique Hasler, with the pair using a joint media conference to express the two countries opposition to the idea of Russians and Belarusians featuring at the next Olympics, as reported by The Baltic Times.

Rinkēvičs and Hasler said they both believed that smaller countries must "take a vocal stand for their values and formulate them clearly."

Hasler added that despite Latvia and Liechtenstein being "small countries" they had "their own voice", with Rinkēvičs claiming that "the leaders of authoritarian countries tend to mix sports and cultural events with politics while trying to tell the world otherwise."

During a meeting, the Ministers discussed their upcoming Presidencies of the Council of Europe, and their work to create an International Tribunal to initiate prosecutions because of aggression by Russia towards Ukraine.

Following discussions, Rinkēvičs tweeted that the countries were "like-minded nations", while Hasler tweeted to thank her compatriot for a "constructive exchange."

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) recommended in March that athletes from Russia and Belarus were allowed to return to international competitions as neutrals, provided they did not support the war and were not affiliated to the military.

The IOC stressed when these updated recommendations were announced that no decision had been taken on Russian and Belarusian athletes participation at the Paris 2024 Olympics, due to be held from July 26 to August 11.