Save this one for history books
As it was expected, Latvia and Russia signed a border treaty Tuesday. Latvia’s Prime Minister Aigars Kalvitis and his Russian counterpart Mikhail Fradkov sealed the document with their signatures.
We noticed Kalvitis, a member of the People’s Party, wore a party-colored orange tie to commemorate the occasion. Nice, Mr. Prime Minister.
Fradkov hoped it would “permit the removal of a whole array of questions and bring relations to a new level,” according to the Associated Press.
At the same time, back in Riga, an uber-nationalist party Visu Latvijai (All for Latvia) brought welding equipment as a gift for Kalvitis to commemorate the occasion, which is drawing to a close a chapter of post-Soviet Latvian history.
“We offered welding equipment to the Big Man because we’re concerned about his future. To leave the political arena, Kalvitis must have other means to make a living,” Visu Latvijai chairman, boyish-looking, Raivis Dzintars told apollo.lv. “Very soon, Kalvitis will have to look for another place of employment,” said the leader of the party that received 13,469, or 1.48 percent, of the votes in the last election.
The party plans to appeal the treaty in the Constitutional Court.
Planning a court appeal is also Jaunais Laiks, or New Era Party, described incorrectly by some in the Russian media as “nationalist,” possibly because they oppose the border agreement. A candidate for the post of a party leader, Solvita Aboltina said the border agreement adjusts Latvia’s borders from what is specified in the Constitution, and therefore it should have been put on a referendum. Jaunais Laiks holds 15 seats in the Saeima and Aboltina said they will vote against the treaty ratification.
Here’s a photo gallery of the signing.
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