United List and National Alliance will not respond to Karins' invitation to informal talks on new government today

RIGA - The United List and the National Alliance will not respond today to the invitation of Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins (New Unity) to meet in the afternoon for informal talks on the formation of a new government.

The United List and the National Alliance, on the other hand, note that they are ready to discuss the work of the current government at the usual coalition meeting on Monday.

Saeima speaker Edvards Smiltens (United List) told LETA that the representatives of the party will not go for new talks today, because the United List will not participate in the formation of a new coalition, taking into account that the current government is still working.

Smiltens referred to the statement of President Edgars Rinkevics that a new government cannot be formed at the moment, as the president has not entrusted this process to anyone at the moment, in accordance with the Constitution.

"The Constitution, the laws and the agreements established by the current government are still valid in the country and have to be fulfilled," Smiltens said.

Janis Dombrava, National Alliance's politician and the head of the Saeima National Security Commission, told LETA that the National Alliance has informed the prime minister that the party is ready to continue negotiations on Monday in the existing coalition, a three-party format.

"If there is a desire to continue talking about the existing government, then we continue, if there is a desire to form a new government - then it is a completely different matter," Dombrava said.

As reported, Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins (New Unity) announced today that he would start new coalition talks.

The Union of the Greens and Farmers and the Progressives will also participate in the negotiations. Karins went on to say that the National Alliance and the United List would too be invited to the coalition talks.

At the same time, Karins emphasized that he was not considering stepping down because he was not going to give up on his Cabinet reshuffle plans.

In order to make the government work more dynamic, Karins proposed that the politician of the National Alliance Rihards Kols takes the post of Foreign Minister, the United List takes over the Economics Ministry and New Unity - the Environmental Protection and Regional Development Ministry.

The United List and the National Alliance did not accept Karins' proposal.