Vladimir Putin 'threatens' Latvia with consequences over its policy towards Russian minority

The Russian president has said that Latvia will face consequences "within its own country" because of its policy towards the Russian minority.

Putin said this at the Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights meeting on December 4.

"I do not think happiness will come to those pursuing such a policy. I don't know how many of them there are now, but in Latvia, in my opinion, there were 40% of the Russian-speaking population, and there are probably quite a few of them now," Putin said.

According to government data, Latvia is home to 23.5 per cent of Russian minorities among its 1.8 million inhabitants.

Earlier, Putin used the narrative of alleged "oppression of Russians" as a justification for aggression against Ukraine.

In 2022, in response to Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine, Latvia changed the rules of residence for Russian citizens. They are now required to pass a Latvian language test.

In addition, in September of the same year, the Latvian Saeima approved the complete transition of education in all schools and kindergartens to the Latvian language.