GENEVA, June 17. /TASS/. A quarter of the Russian-speaking population in Latvia supports Russian President Vladimir Putin and his policy towards Ukraine, Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics said in an interview with the Swiss newspaper Tages-Anzeiger.

"There is a certain split among Latvia's Russian-speaking population. <...> A quarter [of the country's Russian-speaking residents] very clearly support [Vladimir] Putin and Russia," Rinkevics said when asked about Riga’s attitude toward the pro-Russian minority living on the border of the two countries. He estimated that another quarter of Latvia's Russian-speaking citizens support Ukraine, while the remaining percentage "is confused or does not want to talk about this issue." The politician said that the country's leadership is "keeping an eye on this and trying to get in contact with the Russian-speaking population."

On June 14, Alexander Udaltsov, executive director of the Foundation for Support and Protection of the Rights of Compatriots Living Abroad, said that the Baltic states have turned into "police states" for Russian-speaking citizens. According to him, they are trying to intimidate them and force them to give up any connection with Russia, deprive them of the right to use their native language and receive education in it. In addition, foreign authorities are destroying historical and cultural monuments associated with Russia and Soviet war memorial heritage. There are also infringements of religious rights and attacks on clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church.