[4] On 7 April 2016, Latvijas Televīzija and the National State Television and Radio Company of Belarus signed a cooperation agreement, which provided for the exchange of materials, as well as work on joint projects in the future.

[5] Political conflicts began after Alexander Lukashenko came to power in 1994, when Latvian politicians expressed concern over his statements about rapprochement with Russia.

[citation needed] The year 2004 saw a sharp deterioration in Latvian-Belarusian relations, set by President Vaira Vike-Freiberga, whose government encouraged personal efforts by U.S.

[citation needed] In 2011, Latvia condemned the conviction of opposition leader Ales Bialiatski,[6] calling on Belarus to ensure the observance of human rights and the holding of democratic elections,[7] as well as to release political prisoners.

The Foreign Ministry of Belarus called the erection of the monument a "clear desecration of the memory of the fallen", citing the fact that members of the legion were involved in the killings of Red Army personnel, Belarusian partisans and civilians.

[14] The Zurich-based International Ice Hockey Federation sided with Belarus and asked the mayor of Riga to urgently take down the IIHF flags to protest to what the body called a political gesture.

[16] In 2020, the planned visit of Alexander Lukashenko to Riga was postponed (later cancelled) due to COVID-19 at the request of Latvian President Egils Levits during a phone call.

[citation needed] On 11 July 2007, a historic meeting was held between Latvian Prime Minister Ivars Godmanis and his Belarusian counterpart Sergei Sidorsky in the forest on the Latvian-Belarusian border.

[citation needed] In January 2020, Prime Minister Arturs Krišjānis Kariņš visited Minsk for talks with Lukashenko and Syarhey Rumas.

[37] The authoritarian regime of Alexander Lukashenko has also been facilitating the creation of loyal diaspora organisations since 1994, which culminated in 2005 with the establishment of the Union of Belarusians of Latvia (Russian: Союз белорусов Латвии; Latvian: Latvijas baltkrievu savienība), often abbreviated to SBL.