Russia seeks better Europe ties, says Latvia

Financial Times
Robert Anderson
January 22, 2008

(STOCKHOLM) Russia is interested in improving relations with
Europe in a pragmatic way and Latvia is a good
example of this, according to Maris Riekstins,
the country’s new foreign minister.

“I tend to believe that the Russian leadership
has come to the conclusion that they ought to be
interested to develop these pragmatic relations
with all European Union member countries,” Mr
Riekstins told the Financial Times in an
interview, pointing to the transformation of
Latvia’s once frosty relationship with its former overlord.

Russia’s relations with several EU countries have
worsened significantly over the past year –
notably with the UK over the assassination of
Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko – but Mr
Riekstins believes that the atmosphere will
change after Russia’s presidential election this summer.

Latvia has been able to build a constructive
dialogue despite disagreement over the status of
Latvia’s large Russian minority as well as the
legal basis of the Soviet occupation. While
neighbours have complained about Russia using its
energy supplies as a political weapon, Latvia is
quietly storing Russian gas to be sent back to western Russia in the winter.

“In natural gas we have managed to develop very
good co-operation,” Mr Riekstins said. “We don’t
have a single case which might be seen to show
bad will in this particular field.”

Even the Ventspils oil terminal – whose pipeline
was cut off in 2003 during a row over Latvia’s
Russian minority – is now thriving again, with
oil products being brought from Russia by rail for export.

The warming of relations culminated last month in
the signing of the final settlement of the border
between the two countries, disputed since Latvia’s independence in 1991.

“We have managed to improve our relationship with
Russia in the past one and a half years,” said Mr
Riekstins, a former ambassador to Washington.
“Both sides showed a certain flexibility. This
created the basis for understanding and mutual respect.”

However, Latvia remains the exception among the
Baltic states. Neighbouring Lithuania and Estonia
still have tense relations with Russia – Estonia
even suffered “cyber attacks” from Russian
servers last May after it moved a Russian war
memorial. In the past Moscow has often chosen to
favour one Baltic state temporarily as a lesson
to the others to behave. “We still have plenty of
issues on our agenda where we still have
disagreement [with Russia],” Mr Riekstins said.

Latvia is seeking assurances that the planned
Nord Stream gas pipeline through the Baltic Sea
will not damage the environment.

Mr Riekstins also called Russia’s decision in
December to suspend the Conventional Armed Forces
in Europe treaty “very unfortunate”. Russia used
as a pretext for withdrawing from the treaty that
the Baltic states, as recent Nato members, were not covered by it.

“What we are not ready to do – and what perhaps
some Russian politicians would like to see – is
to take some kind of political decision about our
armed forces, about [troop number] ceilings,” Mr Riekstins said.