Interfax's Interview

 Asked about U.S. ABM   plans Teikmanis said that the dangers posed by the prospective deployment of U.S. missile defense elements in Eastern Europe should not be exaggerated.

 "The situation should be analyzed soberly before conspiracy theories and exaggerations are made," he told.

 There are different formats for debates between Russia, the United States and NATO, and the problem may be discussed in this way, he said.

 "I am not a great expert on military hardware, but I think that Russia’s missile might and the capacities of the ten anti-missile missiles and a radar station are beyond comparison," he said.

 "Times have changed, and it is necessary to meet, speak and take into account mutual interests. If these interests fail to coincide, this is normal and nothing dreadful will happen," he said.

 It is important for NATO, the United States and Russia to realize "the reasons for their interests. No one wants tensions to escalate," he said.

 On Latvian-Russian relations the ambassador said that Latvian Prime Minister Aigar Kalvitis would arrive  in  Moscow  on  Tuesday  to  sign  a Russian-Latvian border agreement.

 "I must express satisfaction that we have finally reached the point of signing. I think that the day this is to happen will go down in the history of Latvian-Russian relations," he said.

 The border issue has taken a long time to resolve, "but the problem did not concern the border which was drawn ten years ago," he said.

 "What matters is that the problem of state succession must be resolved. Latvia was not a newborn state when it gained independence in the early 1990s. We remain what we were in 1918," Teikmanis said.

 Russia has a different position on this issue, he said.

 Latvia proposed entering a reference to the 1920 peace treaty on the agreement, under which Latvia gained Abrene and six local districts, which are currently part of the Pytalovo district in Russia's Pskov region.

 Moscow refused to sign this agreement, saying that it could entail territorial claims to Russia in the future. Riga subsequently agreed to refer to the 1991 constitutional law, passed by the Latvian parliament, under which Russia recognized Latvia's independence in 1991.

 "The signing of a border agreement with reference to this law complies with international law and could provide a foundation for the development of long-term relations," Teikmanis said.

 He also claimed, that Latvia had done nothing to glorify fascism and government officials have distanced themselves from events organized by ultra-right groups.

 "No measures are being taken in our country to portray fascism as an act of heroism. It is impossible. Any such attempt made in Latvia will immediately be punished in accordance with the law," he said.

 Local far-right organizations staged a march in Riga recently to pay respect to Latvian SS legionnaires who fought alongside Nazi troops during World War II.

 "Latvian Legionnaires Memory Day has been exploited by a variety of radical organizations, both right-wing and left-wing, to provoke disturbances. The same happened this time," the ambassador said. The Legionnaires themselves did not attend the rally, the diplomat said, adding they "they held their own ceremonies to mark their day."

 The authorities "absolutely clearly distanced themselves" from these mass actions, Teikmanis said. "They called on citizens to boycott them," he said.

 "It is a good sign that the Russian Foreign Ministry noticed for the first time this year that the Latvian authorities distanced themselves from these events. Although, they could have noticed it five years ago because the attitude of the authorities in Riga to such things have not changed for many years," the ambassador said.

 The Latvian people do not associate the Nazi occupation period with anything good," Teikmanis said. Latvia, however, also has "the experience of occupation by the Bolshevik regime," he said.

 "These two regimes were essentially the same. We do not see any difference between them. They were equally bloodthirsty and inhuman," the diplomat said.
 Although relations between Russia and Latvia are not smooth today, they have been developing very positively recently, Teikmanis said.

 A large number of people in Russia do not understand what has caused all these problems between their country and Latvia, which were once republics of the Soviet Union, the ambassador said. But the Latvian people lived side by side with other peoples within the Soviet Union against their will, he said.

 “Nevertheless, we should remain friends and develop good neighborly relations. One can even say that it is necessary to build such relations in spite of the fact that we previously lived within one country,” the ambassador said.

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