Press Report

Council of Europe Commissioner Hans van den Broek in a brief interview for "DIENA" journalist named the issue of non-citizens "one of the most important problems" to be resolved by Latvia. He made the statement during the Strasbourg Council of Europe Summit. Latvian Minister of Foreign Affairs Valdis Birkavs said that the country "had already taken important steps toward abolishing employment restrictions for non-citizens." President Ulmanis told the press that "he had a feeling that a moment had come when no-one could criticize Latvia for human rights violations." At a press-conference in Riga Mr. Ulmanis said that the Baltic states were not mentioned in the context of human rights during the Summit. Among the issues widely discussed at the Summit was the abolishment of death penalty. President Yeltsin, while addressing the Summit, mentioned violations of the interests of Russian-speakers "in certain countries." Russia hoped that Latvia and Estonia would settle the problem, said the Russian President. The Latvian President had a meeting with Russian President Yeltsin. According to President Ulmanis, the meeting allowed him to be more optimistic about future relations between the two countries. Mr. Ulmanis believes that another meeting with the Russian President in Moscow will be possible. Diena