The FINANCIAL — According to RIA Novosti, Latvia's president said on January 28 that the expulsion of a Latvian diplomat from Russia last week was an 'appropriate' response to a similar move by Riga, and that the dispute is therefore over.
"It was quite an appropriate response to the expulsion of a [Russian] diplomat, and the incident can be considered resolved," Valdis Zatlers told Latvia's National Television news channel.
On January 25, Russia ordered a Latvian Embassy officer to leave Russia "for activities incompatible with his diplomatic status and damaging the country's national security." The move came after the ex-Soviet state expelled a Russian diplomat, accusing him of espionage. Moscow called the expulsion an "unfriendly act" and promised retaliation.
The incident was the second time Latvia had expelled a Russian diplomat, sparking a retaliatory move from Moscow, since the Baltic state gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. In 2004, the country expelled Pyotr Urzhumov. Russia then expelled Juris Poikans, first secretary of the Latvian Embassy.
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