Translated material
The end of the thaw
Latvia expelled Russian diplomat
The short period of thaw in relations between Riga and Moscow ended abruptly and unexpectedly. The Latvian Foreign Ministry demanded the expulsion of the Russian diplomat, saying that his activities are incompatible with his diplomatic status and pose a threat to national security. Acting Secretary of State of the Latvian Foreign Ministry Edgars Skuja yesterday handed a note to Russian Ambassador Viktor Kalyuzhny, demanding that the embassy employee leave the country within 48 hours.The name of the Russian diplomat expelled from Latvia has not yet been announced. However, on January 3 it became known that one of the employees of the Russian Embassy in Latvia was allegedly included in the black list of prohibited persons in one of the Schengen zone states. This information surfaced after Latvia joined the European visa-free space on December 21, 2007.
Then we were talking about a person holding the position of first secretary of the Russian Embassy in Latvia. At an unofficial level, information appeared that this was Anatoly Kogalov. However, already on January 4, Secretary of State of the Latvian Foreign Ministry Norman Penke stated that declaring a diplomat persona non grata in another Schengen country is not an automatic basis for expulsion from Latvia.
Who is Riga expelling? “We do not comment on such issues, and in international practice it is not customary to name names,” Latvian Foreign Minister Maris Riekstins said yesterday. In response to a direct question from Vremya Novostey about whether Anatoly Kogalov would be expelled, the Minister of Foreign Affairs replied: “This is not Kogalov.” The Russian Embassy in Latvia does not comment on the incident.
Latvian Prime Minister Ivars Godmanis was quick to declare yesterday that the expulsion of the diplomat would not have much impact on Russian-Latvian relations. Foreign Minister Mr. Riekstins was more cautious, noting in an interview with Latvian Radio that the scandal would still have a “short-term impact” on bilateral relations. He also stated that the expulsion of the diplomat should in no way be connected with the approaching end of the term of office of the Russian Ambassador to Latvia, Viktor Kalyuzhny. Just today a farewell reception is scheduled to take place at the embassy - as you know, Russia is sending the former head of the Central Election Commission, Alexander Veshnyakov, to replace Mr. Kalyuzhny.
On the eve of the March presidential elections, Moscow is particularly sensitive to unfriendly gestures from other states. And this may manifest itself in Russian retaliatory measures against Riga. But just last December, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov visited the Latvian capital - this was the first visit of the head of Russian diplomacy to the republic after the collapse of the USSR. Last year, the parliaments of the two countries successfully ratified the border treaty after several years of delays.
In the history of post-Soviet Russian-Latvian relations, there was only one case of mutual expulsion of diplomats. In April 2004 , the second secretary of the Russian Embassy, Pyotr Urzhumov, was expelled from Latvia for “activities incompatible with diplomatic status.” He was accused of trying to obtain information about NATO military infrastructure and political events. In response, the first secretary of the Latvian Embassy, Juris Poikans, was expelled from Russia.
“Latvia must be prepared for Russia to respond to declaring its diplomat persona non grata with a symmetrical step. This is standard practice,” Latvian political scientist Karlis Daukšts told Vremya Novostei. According to the expert’s forecast, “the thaw observed in Russian-Latvian relations will be replaced by a period of mutual accusations.” In particular, this will affect the upcoming visit of President Valdis Zatlers to Moscow: “An invitation from the Russian side has already been received, and it was even assumed that Valdis Zatlers could pay a visit to Moscow before the end of Vladimir Putin’s presidential term. Now I have doubts that Valdis Zatlers will meet with Vladimir Putin.”