MOSCOW, February 25. /TASS/. Andrey Lankov, a specialist on the history and politics of the Korean Peninsula who was detained by Latvian police during a lecture in Riga, stated that he has been "expelled" from the country, without any explanation for the decision.

"If we discuss the reasons for the incident and the logic the Latvian Foreign Ministry followed in making the decision, formally, I know nothing about it. The documents shown to me and my lawyers contained no explanation as to why I was permanently expelled from Latvia (where I spent 4 hours after a thirty-year absence)," he wrote on his Telegram channel.

According to the Korean studies scholar, half an hour before his lecture was set to begin, police and immigration service officials appeared in the hall, stating that he was on a list of individuals, approved by the country's Foreign Ministry, who are banned from entering Latvia and "must be immediately deported."

"The lecture, of course, was disrupted. I was taken to the Immigration Office, where lawyers, contacted by friends, arrived some time later," Lankov wrote.

The scholar added that he does not intend to take any further steps regarding the situation, as he sees no point in doing so.

Earlier, the Delfi portal, citing event attendees, reported that the expert was escorted to the immigration service by municipal police officers. Lankov's lecture on the DPRK was scheduled for February 24 at 7:00 p.m. local time (8:00 p.m. Moscow time). Furthermore, the researcher himself confirmed his detention to a TASS correspondent.