Vejonis told the press, on March 21 after meeting Prime Minister Maris Kucinskis, that it is up to each country to decide whether to congratulate someone on an election victory.
“It is the decision of each individual country whether to congratulate or not. A country does so based on international organizations’ findings on whether there have been any violations during the election process,” President Vejonis said.
He added that for the time being he has not congratulated Putin on his reelection. However later in the day it emerged that he had done so in the form of a letter which expressed hope for mutually beneficial development of the Latvian-Russian neighborhood.
Incumbent President Putin won the Russian presidential elections by a landslide last weekend, receiving 76.67 percent of the vote.
A number of heads of state, including Chinese Preside Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump, have already congratulated Putin on his victory.
Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid has also sent greetings to Putin, but Lithuania’s Dalia Grybauskaite has decided against congratulating Putin on winning another term in office.
