OSINFO - Open Sources Information

Text of report by Latvian newspaper Diena on 12 February

[Commentary by Aivars Ozolins: "Kremlin's Orders?"]

While our foreign minister [Maris Riekstins] sincerely tells us all about the idea that Latvia is not a supporter of Russia in the European Union, as some influential western press publications have claimed, the Russian foreign minister [Sergey Lavrov] has been busily praising Latvia's government for "very positive dynamics" which are supposedly hindered by just a few unnamed individuals. One Russian press outlet which is close to Russia's espionage service has just named one such person -- the director of the Bureau to Protect the Constitution [SAB], Janis Kazocins, is an "agent" for Great Britain and the USA in their battle against Russia.

Those who govern Latvia have quieted down about the fuss which was raised in early January about whether Kazocins will remain in office after his term expires in May. It may be because they have decided that if they get rid of the SAB director who is annoying to local "oligarchs" and their friends in Russia just because he caught a Russian spy, the revenge taken on the unpopular government and especially the People's Party [TP] would be even more intensive than that which occurred after their attempt to settle accounts with KNAB [Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau] director [Aleksejs] Loskutovs. That does not mean, however, that the SAB director has suddenly become acceptable to them.

Russia's Approach

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was unexpectedly peaceful in reacting to the expulsion of a Russian diplomat from Latvia. At a press conference on January 23, he was asked whether this would not cause the relationship between the two countries to worsen. Lavrov went on and on about the idea that Russia wants "mutually advantageous" relations with Russia and that "we will continue along this same line." "All in all, let me repeat, we have noted very positive dynamics in our relations," stressed the minister, adding: "We are very well aware that not everyone likes this. There are probably those who want to see problems in the relationship between Russia and Latvia, who want additional tensions. I do hope that these people will not gain the upper hand."

Latvia's government noisily expels a Russian spy, but the Russian foreign minister praises this government and says that only a few individual "people" are hindering the good relationship. Why on earth is Moscow's reaction so unusually compliant and even friendly? Who are the people in Latvia who are bothering the Kremlin?

Kazocins' Activities

The Russian newspaper Argumenti Nydelyi, which is said to have close links to the Russian Federal Security Service, published an article on February 7 which was headlined "London Attacks Via Riga". The story said that one such person is the retired British General Kazocins, who supposedly organized the expulsion of the Russian spy at the orders of Britain's espionage services. "The British ambassador is a higher commander to Latvia's counterespionage unit than is the president of Latvia," claims the newspaper. The big bosses -- Great Britain and the USA -- have decided that Latvia will be their servant in their battle against Russia. "Riga does not want to, but it will have to become involved in the 'grand game'," the newspaper concludes.

It is significant that in writing about the spy scandal, the newspaper starts with a reminder of how successfully Minister Lavrov, when visiting Riga in December, "laid the foundations for the further development of Russia's and Latvia's relations," and even "talked about a strategic partnership between our country" (the truth is that it was Ambassador [Viktor] Kaluzhniy who talked about that idea). That, wrote the newspaper, was upsetting for London, which ordered that the "Latvian resource" -- the SAB -- "be switched on."

Status of SAB

It should go without saying that Latvia's main security institution works closely with partner services in NATO and European Union member states. Who cares if this is unpleasant to Russia, which is becoming more and more aggressive in its foreign policy -- so aggressive that some in the West are already talking about a new cold war? It is quite unbelievable, but the tone of Russian newspapers in describing the "enemies" of the West is more gentle than things that we have heard right here in Riga -- the newspaper Moskovskye novosti has also claimed that Latvia's main security agency is "directly controlled by the USA and Great Britain".

TP founding member Gundars Berzins announced in December that people such as Kazocins must not be allowed to work in government, because Kazocins, Berzins suggested, was in fact an American spy who "bent his backbone in obeisance" and visited the US embassy three times a week. The SAB announced that Kazocins did not visit the US embassy even once last year, but the worrying thing about what Berzins and others have said is not that they have been lying, but that they are so hostile toward Latvia's allies. The head of the Saeima [Parliament] faction of the TP, [Maris] Kucinskis, was very frank in complaining about the fact that Kazocins expelled the Russian spy -- Kucinskis, you see, did not have the impression that the expelled diplomat was causing any threats against Latvian security. Another guru in the area of national security, Saeima National Security Commission chairman [Dzintars] Jaundzeikars, immediately began talking as if getting rid of Kazocins was an automatic decision that had already been taken. The SAB director, said Jaundzeikars, had good contacts with "NATO and the western world", but not that good an understanding of "processes to the East."

Foreign Minister Riekstins has claimed that "people are talking about something that does not exist -- Latvia's excessive closeness to Russia." The fact is that things that have been said and done by Lavrov, Kaluzhniy, Russian newspapers, but particularly Latvia's own politicians in the context of the "spy scandal" cause one to be very concerned about what does and does not exist and who exactly is issuing orders to Latvia. The same is true with respect to the fact that the appropriateness of the SAB director for his job is being questioned with any justification whatsoever. If the governing coalition replaces Kazocins so as to satisfy the desires of Moscow, then there will be no doubt whatsoever that Latvia is once again becoming a vassal state to Russia.

Source: Diena, Riga, in Latvian 12 Feb 08