Vilnius, October 25 /TASS/. Latvia "understands the Russian people" and can act as an EU negotiator in talks on a Ukrainian settlement, former Latvian Foreign Minister (1990-1992) Janis Jurkans said. "We know the Russian language and understand the Russians," he said, as quoted by the NRA newspaper. Latvia, according to him, can use this advantage and act as a negotiator of the European Union. He said that Riga should take the initiative at the European Union level "to lead the dialogue". Latvia could create conditions where the European Union would want to "turn to Russia, instead of moving away from it and being in constant conflict," he added.

Vilnius, October 25 /TASS/. Latvia "understands the Russian people" and can act as an EU negotiator in talks on a Ukrainian settlement, former Latvian Foreign Minister (1990-1992) Janis Jurkans said. "We know the Russian language and understand the Russians," he said, as quoted by the NRA newspaper. Latvia, according to him, can use this advantage and act as a negotiator of the European Union. He said that Riga should take the initiative at the European Union level "to lead the dialogue". Latvia could create conditions where the European Union would want to "turn to Russia, instead of moving away from it and being in constant conflict," he added.