Translated material
Milestone date
The border agreement between Russia and Latvia will be signed on March 27
The border agreement between Latvia and Russia will be signed in the Russian capital on March 27. The verbal agreement reached on this issue by the foreign ministers of the two countries, Sergei Lavrov and Artis Pabriks, was announced yesterday by the Secretary of State of the Latvian Foreign Ministry Norman Penke. The information was also confirmed by Russian diplomatic sources. The document will be signed by Prime Ministers Mikhail Fradkov and Aigar Kalvitis.The question remains open about the participation of the presidents of both countries in the signing ceremony. Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga previously expressed a desire to come to Moscow. However, according to her, she has not yet received confirmation that her Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will take part in the ceremony. “The place and date of signing of the border agreement are now approximately known. As for the remaining details, there is no clarity yet, and consultations between foreign policy departments continue,” presidential press secretary Quince Rosenberg told Vremya Novostei.
Let us recall that in early March the Latvian government disavowed the unilateral declaration attached to the text of the agreement in 2005, which Russia regarded as making territorial claims to the Pytalovo district of the Pskov region. This removed the main barrier to signing the agreement. Previously, experts expressed the opinion that Moscow would make the final decision on signing the agreement only after March 16. On this day, Latvia unofficially celebrates the day of remembrance of the Latvian Waffen SS legionnaires and events are held that are fraught with excesses and nationalist emotions.
Yesterday, the Riga City Council announced that it would issue permission to hold five events on March 16. Three are held in memory of legionnaires, one was planned by anti-fascists. The fifth event is held for a different reason, but its organizers are also anti-fascist supporters. All five actions are taking place at different times, so that Latvian extremists do not meet with Russian anti-fascists. “On March 16, there will be enough police resources to ensure order and prevent any excesses,” assured the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ivars Godmanis. The Latvian newspaper Telegraph reported yesterday that in order to create a favorable atmosphere for the signing of an agreement between the Latvian government and the Russian Embassy, an informal agreement was allegedly reached: Latvia will “hold back” national radicals, and Russia will not allow street protests by anti-fascists.