Moscow Lambasts Latvian President for Calls to 'Isolate' Ethnic Russians

© Sputnik / Alexey MaishevMoscow Kremlin and Bolshoi Moskvoretsky Bridge. In the background: the building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.
Moscow Kremlin and Bolshoi Moskvoretsky Bridge. In the background: the building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. - Sputnik International, 1920, 26.08.2022
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MOSCOW (Sputnik) - A suggestion made by Latvian President Egils Levits to isolate ethnic Russians who are not "loyal" to the state is unacceptable and violates humanitarian norms, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Friday.
Earlier this week, Levits said that ethnic Russians living permanently in the Baltic country should be "isolated" if they are not deemed loyal.

"Statements of this kind by the president of a country that is a member of the European Union, declaring adherence to democratic values, are absolutely unacceptable and violate all generally accepted moral, ethical and humanitarian norms," Zakharova said in a statement.

The spokeswoman added that Moscow hopes to see international human rights organizations react to Levits’ statement.
She also lambasted Riga's crackdown on the Russian language, since Latvia announced its plan to bar people from speaking Russian in the workplace. Zakharova noted that the "language genocide" and persecution of ethnic minorities has become a crucial part of Latvian government policies.
At least 11% of some two million people living in Latvia have "non-resident" status, which comes with employment restrictions and a ban on voting. Many of them are Russians who moved to Latvia after it became a part of the Societ Union in 1940.
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