ST. PETERSBURG, June 13 (RIA Novosti) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that he hoped Russia and Latvia would soon be able to put their differences behind them and move on toward a mutually beneficial relationship.
Speaking to Latvian Prime Minister Aigars Kalvitis on the sidelines of an economic forum in St. Petersburg, Putin said: "Despite some difficulties, our relations are developing. We have a lot of potential and common interests."
"As for [Russia], we have repeatedly expressed this interest," he said. "I hope we put all our difficulties behind us as soon as possible and begin thinking about the future."
Russia's relations with its Baltic neighbor have been strained in the post-Soviet era by an unresolved border dispute and the Latvian government's policy toward Russian-speaking residents, which Moscow sees as discriminatory.
Latvia, which gained independence from Russia in 1991, is trying to link the formalization of a 1997 border treaty to compensation from Moscow for nearly five decades of what it says was Soviet occupation. It also has claims to an area in northwestern Russia that was Latvian territory before World War II.
Another divisive issue is Latvia's alleged discrimination against the rights of ethnic Russians, who make up around one-third of its 2.3-million-strong population. It has refused to grant automatic citizenship to many Russians who settled there after WWII and has launched educational reforms reducing the use of the Russian language in schools.
