MOSCOW, May 12. /TASS/. It is necessary to overcome a "negative period" in Russian-Latvian relations, Russian Ambassador to Latvia Alexander Veshnyakov said on the Rossiya 24 TV channel on Thursday.

On Thursday, he held a meeting in the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs over his statements in an interview with Latvian media.

"We need to build a dialogue, taking into account the interests of each other, and should overcome the current negative period in our relationship", the ambassador said.

Veshnyakov said that at the meeting in the Latvian Foreign Ministry on Thursday he expressed concern over the fact that the Latvian mass media have been disseminating information about threats coming from Russia.

Veshnyakov was earlier summoned to the Foreign Ministry of Latvia for a conversation. The Russian ambassador was summoned following his interview with the local newspaper Vesti Nedeli. The summoning of Alexander Veshnyakov to the Latvian Foreign Ministry is connected with the diplomat’s statements on many topics. In the interview, the ambassador said, in particular, that Latvia and a number of other Western countries deliberately demonize Russia. "The aim is to weaken Russia. For that, apparently, all means are justified, including open propaganda. There’s no need to go far to find examples: it’s a recent film by BBC and Latvian-produced film General Plan," he said.

The Russian Embassy to Latvia told TASS that the meeting was held in a constructive atmosphere. "During the conversation Veshnyakov gave reasoned and detailed answers to questions put by the Latvian deputy foreign minister. The Russian ambassador for his part raised before the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs a number of issues important for Russian-Latvian relations at the present stage, saying that the progressive development of the dialogue is possible only with mutual respect for each other's interests", the embassy said.