Online spat between Russian embassy and Latvian Foreign Minister

Take note – story published 4 years ago

Latvia's Foreign Minister, Edgars Rinkēvičs, was engaged in a social media clash August 7 with the Russian embassy in Latvia.

The Russian embassy reacted angrily after an earlier Foreign Ministry release, reported by LSM, reminded the Russian Federation of its obligations to allow peaceful protest and dissent, after a brutal crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in Moscow.

In an angry and sometimes sarcastic tone that is increasingly the house style of the Russian Foreign Ministry, the Russian embassy posted its reply on another social media network, Facebook, though with no individual name attached.

The embassy said the Latvian authorities were trying to "prove that white is black" and that "legal actions of law enforcement agencies on unauthorized acts in Moscow are allegedly unjustified violence against innocent people."

"Remove your blinkers, look at similar and even stronger police actions in other European countries, there are plenty of examples," said the embassy, adding that "after that, there may be an understanding that not everything is fine in Latvia, for example, regarding human rights."

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But the online battle did not end there, with Rinkēvičs - currently also deputizing as acting prime minister while Krišjānis Kariņš is on holiday - replying in Russian that "In Latvia, the holding of democratic elections and peaceful demonstrations is not prevented, they do not try to take children away from their parents for participating in protests, they do not beat Russians, they do not kill human rights defenders and do not engage in diplomatic rudeness like this, unfortunately they do in Russia." 

 

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