Latvia’s elected president, Edgar Rinkevich, head of the republic’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, spoke about how he sees his presidency, which should begin after taking office on July 8, Delfi reported. According to him, he will deal primarily with political neutrality as head of state and leave the ruling New Union party.
As stated by Rinkevich, he will continue to fulfill his duties as head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia before taking office. He also added that as president, he will oppose “Russian propaganda” and work to bridge the gap in society on the conflict in Ukraine.
“Dialogue, conversation, maximum positivism about how to appeal to people who are confused or do not yet understand what world they belong to,” explained Rinkevich.
Answering a question about Russian-speaking citizens of Latvia, he expressed his readiness to communicate in Russian if necessary. However, Rinkevich also noted that he does not support calls for the Russification of the state.
“This is not to underestimate the importance of state language. As for the language requirements in Latvia, we are on the right track and insist that knowledge of the Russian language is not required when hiring a person. Sometimes when I hear the call for the Russification of Latvia, I call for the Latvianization,” stressed Rinkevich.
Earlier, it was reported that Latvian Saeima was on the third try. selected Rinkevich as President.