Russia's Chargé d'Affaires pro tempore Dmitry Kasatkin has been issued a protest note and asked to provide a full explanation of the incident in which a drone illegally violated Latvian airspace and was equipped with explosives.
During the meeting, the Russian representative assured that the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs would be informed about the situation.
The Russian Chargé d'Affaires denied that the drone belonged to Russians or Russia.
The Latvian authorities are continuing to conduct an in-depth investigation into the circumstances of the incident. Latvia has informed its allies, NATO, and European Union leadership, as well as counterparts from other countries' foreign ministries through diplomatic channels.
"We will keep this issue high on the agenda, as has already been said publicly - the Ministry of Defence, together with the responsible authorities, is continuing the investigation. We will be in contact with the Russian side about this unacceptable incident, which threatens not only Latvia's security but also the security of wider regions," said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Diāna Eglīte.
As reported earlier, a Russian unmanned aerial vehicle crashed in the Rezekne region on Saturday, September 7.
Preliminary data indicated that it was a military UAV of the Russian Federation which had entered Latvian airspace from Belarus. Later, the National Armed Forces (NBS) announced that the drone was a "Shahed" type drone equipped with an explosive device. The commander of the NBS, Lieutenant General Leonīds Kalniņš, said that the drone was not specifically targeted at Latvia, but at Ukraine.
