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Russian Border Demarcated
The prime ministers of Russia and Latvia, Mikhail Fradkov and Aigars Kalvitis have signed an agreement establishing the state border, which was initialed a decade ago. The signing is being heralded as a breakthrough in relations between the two countries. Kalivitis promised that it would pass the Latvian parliament without amendment. The agreement was to be signed in May 2005, but the Latvian Seim added a so-called explanatory declaration that contained a reference to a 1920 peace agreement between Russia and Latvia that gave the territory that is today the Pytalovsky District in Pskov Region to Latvia. Moscow took that as a territorial claim and refused to sign the document.
Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga announced her country's readiness to sign the agreement with Russia last month. First she had to convince the Seim, however. “We don't know who the next president of Russia will be, so we have to consider the fact that President Putin has expressed readiness to sign that agreement,” she told Latvian MPs. The declaration was then rescinded.
Russia insisted that the agreement be signed at the level of prime ministers, although, according to Latvian Foreign Ministry press secretary, Latvia wished to sign the agreement on the highest level. The Latvian president, however, has the reputation of being Russophobic in some Russian media. She made a comment in 2005 about elderly Russians drinking vodka and reminiscing about their heroic conquest of the Baltic, which was poorly received by many.
Russia may not have taken best advantage of the situation, says State Duma member Mikhail Demurin, formerly deputy director of the Foreign Ministry 2nd European Department, could have bargained for strategic military guarantees from Riga. The rush to sign the treaty, he speculated may have been the desire of Gazprom, which is concerned that the country will interfere in the North European Gas Pipeline. In addition, Gazprom is hoping to use a natural gas reservoir in Latvia, and deteriorating relations with Minsk make Latvia a more attractive gateway to Europe for Russian energy resources.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Mar. 28, 2007
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