Baltic States – CIS, EU – Baltic States, Latvia, Legislation, Russia

This will be the first meeting of both prime ministers in several years. Therefore it is very important to achieve "mutual chemistry". This could be a good start for solving further issues, explained Riekstins.

Taking into account their history, Latvian-Russian relations are not simple. Thus it is important for Latvian Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis (Unity) and Russian Prime Minister Dimitri Medvedev to reach a mutual agreement on practical future cooperation, added Riekstins.

As reported, Dombrovskis will attend an annual summit of Baltic Sea region leaders in St Petersburg today, where he is to have a one-on-one meeting with Medvedev.

The forum will address the progress in improving the environment of the Baltic Sea and further steps in strengthening regional cooperation, including using the opportunities provided by cooperation between private and public sector.

Within the framework of the forum, Dombrovskis will have bilateral meetings with Medvedev. During the meeting, the prospects of bilateral relations and topical issues of economic cooperation, including Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization, will be discussed. Attention will be given to cooperation in the field of transport, improvement of border-crossing capacity, as well as opportunities to implement the Modernization Partnership Dialogue.