Baltic States – CIS, EU – Baltic States, Latvia, Legislation, Ukraine

Muiznieks said in an interview on the Latvian Radio show "Darbojosas personas" (Dramatis personae) that in December 2014, he was 15 kilometers away from Donetsk, but on the Ukrainian, not the pro-Moscow side. Asked whether and where he established violations, the commissioner said that they are apparent on both sides. "The controlled territories in Crimea may have a humanitarian crisis or human rights crisis, but I have not visited Donbass, for example. So I would not like to comment the situation there since I have not seen it with my own eyes," said Muiznieks.

Asked why he did not visit Donbass, Muiznieks said it was for security reasons – "a war was going on."

The commissioner said that in one year, he has visited Ukraine a total of four times, and Russia – once. Four visits in one country is a lot, but the crisis situation in Ukraine grabbed his attention.

Muiznieks explained that the first time he visited Ukraine was during Euromaidan, indicating that at the time the main problem was the police attacking activists and news reporters. He said that it would be important to investigate the various incidents, but so far, nothing has been done.