Russian senators ratify border treaty with Latvia
The Federation Council, the upper house of Russia`s parliament, ratified at its first fall session on Wednesday a border treaty between Russia and Latvia.
The treaty, called upon to end a long-running territorial dispute with Russia`s ex-Soviet neighbor, was signed in Moscow on March 27. Latvia`s parliament ratified it on May 17, and the country`s president approved the law on May 29.
A 9.5-kilometer (6-mile) sector of the border will have to be moved 30 meters (98 feet) to the west and will become Russian territory. The treaty was ratified by Russia`s lower house of parliament, the State Duma, on September 5.
By signing the treaty, European Union member Latvia officially recognized the post-Soviet borders with Russia, dropping its earlier territorial claims to the Pytalovsky District in Russia`s Pskov Region, which was part of the Baltic country until World War II.
Mikhail Margelov, the chairman of the Federation Council`s international affairs committee, said at today`s session that under the treaty, a border demarcation commission will be established as soon as possible.
"The treaty`s ratification will complete the international legal formalization of the Russian-Latvian border," Margelov said.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Vladimir Titov said earlier that the accord would advance Russia`s relations with the 27-nation EU, and that the agreement does not make any excessive territorial concessions to the Latvian side, with Russia receiving 225 hectares and conceding 216 hectares.
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