President Vladimir Putin criticized the Baltic states over disputed territorial issues on Monday. While congratulating the editorial staff of the Komsomolskaya Pravda on its 80th anniversary, he ruled out the possibility of holding negotiations about the return of Baltic territories seized by the Soviet Union. "They are going to get a big goose egg rather than Pytalovo district," Putin was quoted as saying. The district if part of the Pskov region in northwestern Russia that Latvians refers to Abrene and used to be part of the interwar republic of Latvia. Many Latvians would like to have the region returned, and as a result it has become a stumbling block to signing a border agreement with Russia.
