NOVO-OGARYOVO, March 28 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's president urged Wednesday further steps to improve relations with Latvia as he met with the visiting prime minister following the signing of a long-delayed border treaty by the two former Soviet allies.
Aigar Kalvitis and the Russian premier, Mikhail Fradkov, formalized the post-Soviet borders Tuesday ending 10-years of negotiations, when EU member Latvia backtracked on earlier territorial claims and demanded that Russia acknowledge the Soviet Union's WWII-time aggression against the Baltic republic.
Vladimir Putin said the signing was an important step, but Russia and Latvia had a host of other problems to tackle in apparent reference to Moscow's concerns about what it calls discrimination against Russian-speaking non-citizens in the Baltic state.
"The signing was an important step in the development of state relations, but it does not offer a solution to all the many issues and problems facing the two countries," Putin said.
Moscow said about 400,000 mainly Russian-speakers had not been automatically granted Latvian citizenship following the breakup of the Soviet Union, which is hampering their access to jobs, education and other democratic rights.
The Kremlin has also criticized the reform of secondary education in Latvia, which affects about 100,000 Russian-speaking students, requiring 60% of subjects to be taught in Latvian. Authorities say the move is designed to get Russians assimilated into Latvian society.
Moscow has condemned the criminal prosecution of former WWII veterans and security officers, who are dubbed "Soviet occupiers", while simultaneously allowing former Nazi fighters to march in the Baltic state.
The European Court of Human Rights is examining an appeal from Vasily Kononov, 84, a Russian WWII partisan convicted in Latvia of war crimes for ordering the killing of several Nazi collaborators in 1944, while Latvia was occupied by German troops.
Two other Russian WWII veterans, who lodged appeals with the court after being accused of genocide, died in 2006 and 2005 before the court hearings could begin. The Kremlin said earlier it would pressure the European court to have their conviction overturned.
But Putin said bilateral relations had also shown a positive trend as mutual trade grew 34% to $2 billion last year.
"Russian investment in the Latvian economy is growing, and we hope Latvia as an EU member can play a positive role in attracting European investment in Russia," Putin said.
Kalvitis said the border treaty was crucial for Latvia, also a NATO member since 2004, and he hoped the two nations would soon resolve other problems overshadowing their relations.
"The signing of the [border] treaty, which was a very sensitive issue for us, is an extremely important event for Russia and Latvia, as well as our neighbors," Kalvitis said. "I hope we will also find solutions on other treaties."
The Russian premier said Tuesday an agreement on the status of Soviet-era memorials could be signed with Latvia soon, the issue that has worried Moscow, with preparations being made in neighboring Estonia to remove WWII-time burials of Soviet troops to end clashes "dividing society."
