On 11 August 2020, to mark the centenary of signing the Treaty of Peace between Latvia and Russia, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia, Urmas Reinsalu; the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Finland, Pekka Haavisto; and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland, Jacek Czaputowicz, arrive in Riga in response to an invitation from the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Edgars Rinkēvičs.
“100 years ago, the Treaty of Peace between Latvia and Russia concluded the Latvian War for Independence. By this Treaty, Russia unreservedly and for all time recognised the independence and sovereignty of the Latvian State and voluntarily and irrevocably renounced any and all sovereign rights over the Latvian people and territory formerly belonging to it. The basic principles of inter-state relations enshrined in the Riga Peace Treaty signed on 11 August 1920 are still valid,” the Latvian Foreign Minister, Edgars Rinkēvičs, asserted.
In a joint discussion, the Foreign Ministers will discuss matters of current importance in international foreign policy, including developments in Russia and Belarus, The Latvian Foreign Minister will also have bilateral talks with the Foreign Ministers of Finland and Poland.
At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs – the building where the Treaty of Peace between Latvia and Russia was concluded 100 years ago – our visitors will have the opportunity to view the original of the Treaty signed on 11 August 1920.
The Treaty established diplomatic ties between Latvia and Russia, setting the groundwork of inter-state relations.
Later in the day, the Latvian, Estonian, Finnish and Polish Foreign Ministers will then take part in an exchange of views at an event dedicated to the centenary of the Peace Treaty at Riga Castle at which participants will be addressed by the President of Latvia, Egils Levits, the Speaker of the Saeima, Ināra Mūrniece, and the Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš.
The Latvia-Russia Peace Treaty it the most frequently cited of Latvia’s international accords and the one most often analysed in research studies. The Treaty has been included in the United Nations Treaty Collection, in the section of the League of Nations treaties.
The original of the Treaty will be on public display at the Latvian National History Museum at Brīvības bulvāris 32, from 12 to 28 August.
Watch videos on the Latvia-Russia Peace Treaty produced by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Latvian and English.