Too much fuss over Moscow's victory celebrations

A large parade will be held in Moscow on May 9 to mark the 65th anniversary of the end of World War II. The daily Latvijas Avīze says there's no point making a fuss over whether Latvian President Valdis Zatlers should go or not: "We now know that the Kremlin has announced through the Foreign Ministry that Mr Zatlers may attend the celebrations. And anyone familiar with traditional Russian hospitality knows that he'll be heartily wined and dined there. Nothing more has been said, at least not to the lowly people. ... For domestic policy reasons it would certainly be more sensible for the president to be in Moscow on May 9 and not in Riga. And in addition it's entirely superfluous to start talking now about the conditions for such a visit. Let's not forget, it was [former Latvian President] Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga who made a controversial speech there five years ago, but so far nothing much has changed in our relations."

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