Image copyright AFP Image caption In 2004 ethnic Russians opposed an earlier Latvian language reform in schools

Russian MPs have urged their government to impose economic sanctions on Latvia, where the Latvian language will be made compulsory in all secondary schools.

The language reform is being phased in; by September 2021 all 16 to 18-year-olds will be taught only in Latvian.

More than a quarter of Latvia's 2.2m people are ethnic Russians, most of whom are taught in Russian. However, the only official language is Latvian.

Russia has long accused EU member Latvia of undermining minority rights.

Tensions have been simmering for years, partly because Latvia and its Baltic neighbours Estonia and Lithuania are Nato members. During the Cold War they were under communist rule from Moscow.

The drive to make Latvian the only language in secondary education will begin next year.

Bilingual or Russian-only teaching will continue for younger children whose mother tongue is Russian.

Read more on this topic:

According to 2016 data from the Latvian government, 811 Latvian schools are state-funded, including 94 schools where the teaching is in Russian or bilingual.

Latvian President Raimonds Vejonis said the language reform would improve equal opportunities for all citizens. "It will make society more cohesive and the state stronger," he said.

In response, the Russian Duma (lower house) resolution called it a violation of internationally recognised rights.

The MPs, overwhelmingly supporters of President Vladimir Putin, said sanctions on Latvia could include restrictions on trade and financial operations, a boycott of some goods and measures targeting individual Latvian politicians.

Russia has already banned food and drink imports from EU countries because of Western sanctions triggered by Russia's intervention in Ukraine.

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption A 2015 Nato exercise in Latvia: Russia sees it as hostile activity

Last month the Russian foreign ministry called the Latvian reform "odious" and "part of the discriminatory policy of the forceful assimilation of Russian-speaking people that has been conducted for the past 25 years".

The Latvian government says ethnic minorities will still be able to study their own cultures and learn in their mother tongue in primary school. The Russian minority is much larger than Latvia's other minorities, such as the Poles.

Around 300,000 Russian-speakers, or 13% of Latvia's population, are so-called "non-citizens". Fluency in Latvian is among the requirements for Latvian citizenship.

In Ukraine in 2014 Russian-speakers' fears that their language rights were at risk fuelled the ethnic conflict, in which Russia annexed Crimea and helped insurgents in the Donbass region.</s>April 3 (UPI) -- Russian members of Parliament on Tuesday threatened possible sanctions against Latvia for a decision to teach older students in only the Latvian language, not Russian.

Latvian President Raimonds Vejonis signed laws Monday calling for schools to phase in full Latvian-language instruction for 10th- through 12th-year students by the year 2021, with the exception of some Russian language and literature courses.

Half of Latvia's early education courses will remain in Russian along with 20 percent of classes for seventh- through ninth-year students.

Vejonis said the change will "form a more cohesive society and a stronger state."

While Latvian is the country's official language, a quarter of its population are ethnic Russians and nearly 100 state-funded schools offer Russian or bilingual teaching.

The Russian parliament's lower house, the state Duma, condemned the language reform as "forced assimilation" and Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin called on Russia to take a "more active position" on Latvia's supposed rights violation.

"The state Duma notes that the actions of the Latvian authorities violating the rights and freedoms of our compatriots in Latvia should be followed by the adoption of special economic measures," the Duma said.</s>Latvian President Raimonds Vejonis approved on Monday a reform on transition to education in the state language at ethnic minority schools, TASS reports. “Education in secondary schools in the Latvian language will ensure equal opportunities for all young people to get a good education and make a living in Latvia,” Vejonis said. Latvia’s parliament earlier adopted a reform developed by the Ministry of Education and Science, according to which minority schools will start using the Latvian language for most subjects starting from 2020. Only subjects “The Russian Language,” “Russian Literature” and others “linked to culture and history” will be taught in Russian. The gradual implementation of this reform will be launched on September 1, 2019. The defenders of Russian schools earlier held several mass rallies and marches against this reform. Russian-speaking residents make up about 40 percent of Latvia’s population.</s>The Russian lower house has passed a statement decrying as “inadmissible” the Latvian ban on teaching in minorities’ languages in schools. The statement also warns Riga of potential reciprocal economic sanctions.

The statement approved by the State Duma on Tuesday reads that the Latvian authorities’ actions contradicted the mutual respect, understanding and cooperation between all people who live in the country, regardless of their ethnic, cultural or language background. The document also reads that such steps violate the principles of the European Union and the Council of Europe, of which Latvia is a member, as well as the rules established in the majority of civilized nations.

Russian lawmakers now intend to send the address to the United Nations, parliamentary assemblies of the CSTO and OSCE blocs, to the leadership of the European Union, and to the parliaments of all the bloc’s member nations.

In addition, the Duma deputies stated that the freshly signed Latvian law could lead to reciprocal measures from Russian, such as a partial or full ban on financial operations, the increase of import tariffs, restrictions in the sphere of tourism and the suspension of certain bilateral trade agreements.

Earlier this week, Latvian President Raimonds Vejonis signed a bill that excludes lessons in Russian from the curriculum in all of the country’s schools, including schools specifically for ethnic minorities. The only exception is for classes in the subjects of Russian language and literature, or unspecified subjects “connected with culture and history.”

Latvia’s Social Democratic Party ‘Harmony’ protested against the new law, saying that it contradicts both the constitution and the Council of Europe’s framework convention on protection of minorities, which was adopted and ratified by the Latvian parliament in 2005. Harmony called for the reversal of anti-Russian education reforms, but the authorities did not heed the minorities’ opinion.

Despite the fact that Russian speakers make up to 40 percent of Latvia’s 2 million population, the only official language is Latvian and passing a language test is a strict requirement for receiving citizenship. This has resulted in a situation whereby hundreds of thousands of people have to live with a “non-citizen” passport. Most of these non-citizens are ethnic Russians and large numbers of them are Belarusians and Ukrainians, but there are also Poles and Lithuanians. Non-citizens have no voting rights, cannot serve in the Latvian military or police, and are officially banned from working as civil servants, lawyers or pharmacy salespersons.</s>The actions of the Latvian authorities, which violate the rights and freedoms of Russian-speaking citizens in Latvia, should be responded by an introduction of special economic measures against the Baltic state, provided for under Russia’s federal law "On Special Economic Measures," according to the Russian parliament's lower house, the State Duma lawmakers.

The statement stressed that Latvia, being a member of the European Union and the Council of Europe, violated the principles that were observed by most civilized countries.

The lawmakers also proposed to send the statement to the Russian government, the United Nations, the parliamentary assemblies of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe, the parliaments of the Council of Europe member states and the Latvian Saeima.

The Latvian population is about two million people, with 40 percent of Russian language speakers. The only state language in the country is Latvian, while all other languages, including Russian, are considered as foreign languages. Russian-speaking citizens have repeatedly protested against the government's plan to force the schools of ethnic minorities to switch to the Latvian language.</s>When President Donald Trump hosts the leaders of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia at the White House on Tuesday, the principal topic will be the growing spectre of Russian aggression against NATO allies in Eastern Europe.

Another national security concern, however, is likely to cast a shadow over U.S. relations with one of the visiting countries: Latvia's apparent failure to curtail widespread money laundering and corruption in the nation's banking sector.

The scourge of financial crime in Latvia is not new, and its roots trace all the way back to Soviet-era state policies. But at a time when cybercrime and transnational criminal networks are top priorities for U.S. law enforcement, Latvia's struggles have gained new urgency. They've also touched Trump personally, in the form of a 2014 FBI inquiry into talks he and several of his employees held with Russian and Latvian businessmen about building a hotel in Latvia's capital, Riga.

The problems in Latvia's financial industry grew so dire in February that the Treasury Department took steps to cut off the nation's third largest bank, ABLV, from the U.S. financial system. Investigators had found evidence that money moving through the Latvian bank was helping to finance North Korea's ballistic missile program.

The bank denied the allegations, but a new rule proposed by the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network was enough to cause ABLV to collapse. In mid-March, the privately held bank announced a "voluntary liquidation" after the European Central Bank refused to bail it out.

Latvia suffered yet another blow to its banking sector during the same February weekend that the European Central Bank suspended ABLV's activities. Ilmars Rimsevics, president of Latvia's central bank, was detained on corruption charges, accused by Latvian authorities of soliciting around $130,000 in bribes from an unidentified bank.

Rimsevics, the Latvian equivalent of the U.S. Federal Reserve chairman, denied the charges. Yet shortly after he was released on bail, a different Latvian bank leveled new allegations of bribe solicitation against him.

It was unclear Tuesday to what extent, if any, U.S. officials might use the visit of Latvian President Raimonds Vejonis to raise the sensitive subject of his nation's corruption woes.

A White House spokeswoman told CNBC that Latvia's banking and regulatory problems are not slated to be on Trump's agenda when he meets Tuesday with Vejonis, Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid and Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite.

A spokesman for the Treasury Department declined to comment, noting that the 60-day public comment period is still open for the department's proposed rule on ABLV.

Latvian banks' involvement in money laundering goes back decades, tracing its origins to official state policy during the Soviet Union, according to Louise Shelley, a professor of public policy at George Mason University and founding director of the school's Terrorism, Transnational Crime and Corruption Center.

"In the Soviet era, the Soviets wouldn't let people who'd just been released from prison settle in desirable cities. At the same time, they were also attempting to Russify the Baltics, so they allowed former criminals to settle in [Latvia's capital] Riga. Over time, Riga became home to a large Russian population, and some of them had criminal backgrounds," Shelley told CNBC.

"When the Soviet Union ended, there was already a criminalized population [in Riga] made up of mostly Russians, and it helped make Riga into a nexus for criminal networks engaged in money laundering and human trafficking," she said.

Following the fall of the Soviet Union, Latvia's privatization of formerly state-owned industries was done haphazardly, Shelley said, resulting in a new class of oligarchs, some of whom operated in legally murky waters.

By contrast, "Estonia was very, very careful in their privatization process, and they headed off a lot of these issues at the outset," Shelley said. "But such care was not applied in Latvia. That's why nearly every case of financial crime with Russian ties runs through either Latvia or Moldova."</s>Baku. 15 April. REPORT.AZ/ Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov met with the Latvian President Andris Bērziņš within his official visit to Latvia. Report was told by the press service of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Elmar Mammadyarov conveyed Azerbaijani President's greetings to Latvian head of state at the meeting.

Latvian President asked to convey his wishes and greetings to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. The sides noted that the relations between Azerbaijan and Latvia are in a high level.

The Minister congratulated Latvia on the EU presidency and chairmanship and expressed his confidence that the process will be completed successfully.

President Andris Bērziņš expressed confidence that Azerbaijan will be represented at the highest level in the framework of the Eastern Partnership Summit to be held on May 21-22 in Riga. He appreciated the relations between Azerbaijan and the European Union in the field of energy.</s>RIGA (Reuters) - Russia began testing missiles with live munitions in the Baltic Sea on Wednesday, alarming Latvia, a member of NATO, which says the drills have forced it to partly shut down Baltic commercial airspace.

The Russian defence ministry said on Monday that its Baltic Fleet, based in its European exclave of Kaliningrad, was preparing for routine training in the Baltic Sea, including live fire drills to practice hitting air and sea targets.

“It is a demonstration of force,” Latvia’s Prime Minister Maris Kucinskis told Reuters. “It is hard to comprehend that it can happen so close to (our) country,” he said.

The tests are being carried out in Latvia’s exclusive economic zone, officials said, an area of the sea just beyond Latvia’s territorial waters where Latvia has special economic rights, as well as further west in the Baltic Sea.

Riga has closed some of its airspace for the three days of tests, and Sweden also issued a warning to civilian sea traffic and said there could be delays and disruption to civilian air traffic.

The Swedish Transport Agency assigned a so-called temporary D-zone, or danger area, to the southern Baltic Sea, re-routing air and sea traffic.

The missile tests and military drills follow Russia’s massive war games last September, which stretched from the Baltics to the Black Sea. The exercises unnerved the West because of their scale, scope and what NATO said was a lack of transparency.

At a time of high East-West tensions, NATO officials worry that any accident involving military weapons and a civilian ship or plane could spark a wider conflict.

Latvia said Russian drills have never taken place so near its territory. Kucinskis noted that the decision to test so close to Latvian waters came after the West’s expulsion of Russian diplomats last month, the largest since the Cold War.

The diplomats were expelled after a nerve agent attack on March 4 against a former Russian double agent and his daughter in Salisbury, England. Britain, with strong Western backing, blames Russia for the poisoning. Moscow denies any involvement or wrongdoing.

Latvian officials said Russia is not breaking any international rules and has the right to exercise. But the Latvian defence ministry summoned Russia’s military attache to express its concern and to raise the issue of the timing. Russia says it is testing its forces after the winter.

“Drills lasting for three days in the region where there is very intensive aviation traffic, and given everything else that is happening in relations between the West and Russia, I think that it is a rather provocative action,” Latvia’s ambassador to Russia, Maris Riekstins, told Latvian Television.

Latvia will raise the issue at a regular meeting of NATO envoys in Brussels next week, officials said.</s>Russia began testing missiles with live munitions in the Baltic Sea on Wednesday, alarming Latvia, a member of NATO, which says the drills have forced it partly to shut down Baltic commercial airspace. The Russian defence ministry said on Monday that its Baltic Fleet, based in its European exclave of Kaliningrad, was preparing for routine training in the Baltic Sea, including live fire drills to practice hitting air and sea targets.

“It is a demonstration of force,” Latvia’s Prime Minister Maris Kucinskis told Reuters. “It is hard to comprehend that it can happen so close to (our) country,” he said. The tests are being carried out in Latvia’s exclusive economic zone, officials said, an area of the sea just beyond Latvia’s territorial waters where Latvia has special economic rights, as well as further west in the Baltic Sea.

Riga has closed some of its airspace for the three days of tests, and Sweden also issued a warning to civilian sea traffic and said there could be delays and disruption to civilian air traffic.

The missile tests and military drills follow Russia’s massive war games last September, which stretched from the Baltics to the Black Sea. The exercises unnerved the West because of their scale, scope and what NATO said was a lack of transparency.

At a time of high East-West tensions, NATO officials worry that any accident involving military weapons and a civilian ship or plane could spark a wider conflict.

In Ottawa, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance would follow the tests closely, while noting that every nation had the right to carry out military exercises.

“We are staying vigilant and we are also increasing the readiness of our forces, especially in the Baltic region,” he told reporters after meeting Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

“PROVOCATIVE ACTION” Latvia said Russian drills have never taken place so near its territory. Kucinskis noted that the decision to test so close to Latvian waters came after the West’s expulsion of Russian diplomats last month, the largest since the Cold War.

The diplomats were expelled after a nerve agent attack on March 4 against a former Russian double agent and his daughter in Salisbury, England. Latvian officials said Russia is not breaking any international rules and has the right to exercise. But the Latvian defence ministry summoned Russia’s military attache to express its concern.

Russia says it is testing its forces after the winter.

“Drills lasting for three days in the region where there is very intensive aviation traffic, and given everything else that is happening in relations between the West and Russia, I think that it is a rather provocative action,” Latvia’s ambassador to Russia, Maris Riekstins, told Latvian Television.</s>The ministry's permanent secretary, Jonatan Vseviov, told ERR's Estonian news on Saturday that Russia's planned missile tests on the Baltic Sea between Wednesday and Friday this week are no reason for greater concern despite their proximity to the Baltic states.

The Russian military will conduct missile tests later this week. What makes this case stand out is that for the first time in several decades, the tests are to be conducted very close to the territorial boundaries of Latvia.

Vseviov said that the tests themselves weren't anything to worry about, though the allies are monitoring any and all military exercises on land, at sea, or in the air.

Still, the proximity of the exercises to the Baltic states does stand out, he added.

Russia's central air traffic management center informed the government of Latvia last week that the Russian military will carry out missile tests between April 4 and 6 from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Russia has asked Latvia to close its airspace at an altitude of 18 kilometers in an area roughly 40 kilometers off the Latvian coast, the Latvian ministry of defense reported.
Russian MPs call for sanctions against Latvia in response to plans to make Latvian mandatory for all students in secondary schools in the country, which is a quarter ethnic Russians.