Latvia prepares for presidential visit to Russia

Oct 23, 2008
TBT Staff in cooperation with BNS

RIGA 's Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said that an "appropriately politically informative background" is needed for Latvian President Valdis Zatlers' upcoming trip to Moscow.

"It [the visit] has to be well prepared," Lavrov told journalists on Thursday.

The Russian minister did not give a direct answer to a question when Zatlers could make the trip to Moscow, but said he discussed the visit with Latvian Foreign Minister Maris Riekstins.

Riekstins reiterated though that a visit of this level must be not only symbolic but also substantial, namely, is must result in new bilateral agreements. Currently, 17 cooperation agreements between Latviaand Russia are in various stages of preparation.

The Russian foreign minister also said that the country was prepared to discuss controversial issues surrounding the interpretation of history with Latvia.

Russians and Latvians have long disagreed over whether the Soviet Union acted as a "liberator" from the Nazi regime or as an "occupier" of the country when it took control following World War II.

The Russian minister said that one of the subjects discussed at the talks with Latvian Foreign Minister Maris Riekstins was cooperation between Latvian and Russian historians. Lavrov asserted that Russiawould not bar Latvian historians from accessing archive materials that might be of interest.

Lavrov said that Russiawould be ready to set up a joint commission of historians at the academic level. "We are ready to speak about our common history," said the Russian official.

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