VZCZCXYZ0015
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHMO #4626 2621501
ZNR UUUUU ZZH (CCY TEXT ADX: OCFDFE MSI5580 600)
O 191501Z SEP 07
FM AMEMBASSY MOSCOW
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3999
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS MOSCOW 004626 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
C O R R E C T E D  C O P Y  (ADDIN CAPTION) 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PBTS PGOV LG RS
SUBJECT: FEDERATION COUNCIL PASSES LATVIAN BORDER TREATY 
 
REF: MOSCOW 4309 
 
¶1.  (SBU) On September 19, the Russian Federation Council 
voted 177 to one to ratify the border treaty with Latvia. 
Despite fears that the Just Russia party might cater to the 
nationalist vote in election-year politics (reftel), they 
instead voted for the treaty with near unanimity in the first 
reading.  The next step in the ratification process is the 
signature of President Putin.  MFA Baltic desk diplomats 
informed us that although Putin is currently in Sochi, they 
do not expect a significant delay and said the document will 
be signed in a "normal amount of time".  After the treaty is 
signed, it will be published in the newspaper Rossiskaya 
Gazeta, and will go into effect ten days after publication. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) FM Lavrov was scheduled to travel to Riga on 
September 17 to exchange the instruments of ratification, but 
canceled the visit because parliamentary ratification was not 
finalized.  The MFA told us that no date has been set to 
reschedule the visit, but that it would occur when the treaty 
process was complete. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Comment: The signing of this treaty is an important 
step in normalizing the often-volatile relations between 
Latvia and Russia.  Although contentious issues such as 
citizenship for ethnic Russians in Latvia remain on the 
table, the ratification of the border treaty shows that 
concrete progress can be made. 
Burns