NATIONAL POLICY LEADS LATVIA TO THE ABYSS - RUSSIAN SENATOR

MOSCOW, May 11 (RIA Novosti) - The national policy of the present authorities leads Latvia not just to a blind alley, it is a step to the abyss, chairman of the Federation Council's (upper chamber of parliament) international committee Mikhail Margelov has told RIA Novosti on Wednesday. He was commenting on Riga's intention to ratify the European convention on the protection of ethnic minorities without recognizing Latvia's Russia-speaking citizens as such.

"The statement of the Latvian foreign minister, when he spoke of the Latvian plans to ratify the convention, is another instance of ethnic discrimination and distortion of the European values with account for only the internal political bias of the small segment of the new Latvian elite," Margelov said.

He stressed that not only Russia but also the just-held Russia-European Union summit in Moscow and Europe share this position. "Now, especially in the light of the past holiday of the 60th anniversary of the victory over fascism, the entire international community should more closely follow the developments in the Baltic countries. It is the job of not only Russia but all the countries fighting against such discrimination 60 years ago," Margelov stressed.