The treaty was submitted to the State Duma by the Russian president on July 8, and signed on March 27 in Moscow. Latvia's parliament ratified it on May 17.
By signing the treaty, European Union member Latvia officially recognized the post-Soviet borders with Russia, dropping its earlier territorial claims to the Pytalovsky District in Russia's Pskov Region, which was part of the Baltic country until World War II.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Vladimir Titov said the treaty would advance Russia's relations with the 27-nation EU, and that the agreement does not make any excessive territorial concessions to the Latvian side.
"It is based on the principle of mutual compensation, and is beneficial for us; we concede 216 hectares and receive 225," he said, adding that he doubted Latvia will seek to regain the Pytalovsky District. He said there are no legal grounds for Latvia's Constitutional Court to repeal the treaty.
A member of the Communist Party faction in Russia's State Duma said a bloc in Latvia's parliament had filed an appeal with the Latvian Constitutional Court, demanding that it abrogate the Russian-Latvian border treaty.
But the Russian diplomat said Latvia's international obligations do not permit it to renege on an agreement based on a Latvian court ruling.
Latvian opposition forces said earlier that the treaty violated the Latvian Constitution, as the Latvian government had unlawfully changed the state border. Lawmakers said the government should have asked the Latvian people if they supported the decision to give up the country's claims to the Pytalovsky District in exchange for an improvement to political and economic ties with Moscow.
