Translated material
Border without claims
The President of Latvia has a chance to visit Moscow
Yesterday the Latvian Seimas in its final reading adopted the law on ratification of the border treaty with Russia . 70 deputies voted “for”, 25 “against”, and none abstained. Now the floor is up to Russia, which has not yet begun the ratification process. Russian Ambassador to Latvia Viktor Kalyuzhny said that Moscow will make a decision at the end of June. First Deputy Chairman of the Russian State Duma Committee on International Affairs Leonid Slutsky yesterday suggested that “the treaty can be ratified during the spring session, since it should come into force in the fall.” The agreement, signed on March 27 this year by Prime Ministers Mikhail Fradkov and Aigar Kalvitis, will enter into force after ratification by the parliaments of both countries.Yesterday, before the start of the meeting, about a hundred people gathered near the Seimas building, including representatives of the nationalist association “All for Latvia!” They branded with shame the deputies who renounced territorial claims to the Pytalovsky district of the Pskov region of Russia and decided to recognize the border in its current form. The picketers sang folk songs and held posters in their hands calling “not to violate the constitution” and “not to give the territory of Latvia to Russia.”
The picket at the doors of the Diet had no effect. After a two-hour debate, parliamentarians put an end to the ratification of the border treaty. The majority of deputies did not support the proposal of the coalition political association TB/DNNL and the opposition party “New Time” to amend the text of the law, which boiled down to putting forward territorial claims against Russia and mentioning the “Soviet occupation.”
The “for” button was pressed by the government People’s Party, the union of the Latvian First Party and “Latvijas Tselš”, the “Union of Greens and Peasants”, as well as the opposition “Concord Center” and “ZAPCHEL”, for which mainly Russian-speaking citizens vote. “New Time” and TB/DNNL were against it. They intend to wait for the verdict of the constitutional court, which must assess the compliance of the signing of the border agreement with the Latvian constitution. Previously, the Constitutional Court decided not to suspend the ratification process in connection with the lawsuit filed by Novoye Vremya and TB/DNNL.
Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga said yesterday that she intends to sign the treaty within ten days and is even “ready to come to Moscow to exchange instruments of ratification.” The other day, Ambassador Kalyuzhny spoke positively about Ms. Vike-Freiberga’s pragmatism, adding that “she has every reason to meet with the President of Russia.” Vaira Vike-Freiberga's presidential term will expire on July 6, and elections for a new head of state will be held in the Seimas on June 6.