John Halligan (Waterford, Independent)
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I welcome Dr. Apals and wish him well. In his initial remarks he touched on external problems, and spoke about the conflict between Ukraine and Russia. He stated the Latvian ambassador had been in touch with both parties, which answered one of the questions I was going to ask. Has Latvia been able to put forward any conflict resolution proposal? It does not appear that many resolutions have been put forward by the countries in the area, perhaps because of a fear of having to take sides. Will Dr. Apals elaborate on the talks Latvia has had with Russia and Ukraine?

I believe a sizeable Russian minority, which amounts to approximately 26% of the population, lives in Latvia. Is Russian still not given any status as an official language in Latvia, as was the case when I visited there? Is there a ban on employing Russians in certain professions? Does Dr. Apals believe this leads to a form of inequality which will inevitably lead to disquiet and dissent among this sizeable minority? My facts may be wrong, and perhaps the situation has dramatically changed in Latvia in this regard. I was given information just before I came in that dual citizenship is provided with regard to specified countries, including all EU member states, NATO members and Australia, but not Russia or Israel. If this is the case, why is it so? I have the idea that if there is such a sizeable minority in the country and it is prohibited from taking part in the country's affairs, its language is not acknowledged and its members are excluded from certain professions, these issues need to be dealt with. This is not interfering with the country, or telling the ambassador how to run it; these were some of the problems which reared their heads in Ukraine with regard to the Russian minority there. I would like to hear Dr. Apals views on the conflict. Countries such as Latvia have a very important part to play in the peace process for which we all wish. Does he believe there is a resolution and if so what might it be?