RIGA, May 29 (RIA Novosti) - Latvia's prime minister said Monday that a visit by the head of the Russian Orthodox Church to the republic had sent an important political message.
Relations between Russian and the Baltic country have been tense over the treatment of the ethnic Russian minority and Latvia's claims for compensation for the "Soviet occupation" after World War II.
"I believe that it is a very important political signal in Latvian-Russian relations," Aigars Kalvitis said after meeting Patriarch Alexy II. "It is the first ever visit by a patriarch to Latvia."
"I think that follow-up steps should come from both governments," he said, adding that he hoped a meeting between the heads of government would take place in the foreseeable future.
The prime minister said dialogue was needed to resolve the fate of a contentious border treaty with Russia. Latvia has laid claim to a slice of Russia's northern Pskov Region.
"We simply need to open dialogue between the governments and take up issues on which progress can be made," Kalvitis said. "In areas where quick progress is unlikely, we need to negotiate and search for a compromise."
The prime minister added that the problem of Latvia's non-citizens, mostly ethnic Russians born in the Soviet Union but denied Latvian citizenship in the post-Soviet era, had not been raised during his meeting with the patriarch.
