People should not fall into hysterics in the current geopolitical situation, said once the Latvian ambassador to Russia, Germany and US Andris Teikmanis in an interview to LTV programme Rīta panorāma.
This week marks 35 years since the Popular Front of Latvia gained power in the Municipality of Riga. 35 years ago – on the 16th of February, 1990 – a historic meeting of the Riga Council of People’s Deputies took place, at which the Popular Front of Latvia gained the upper hand and took over the leadership in the capital’s municipality, electing Teikmanis as the chairman of the council. The Communist party’s monopoly of power was abolished and democratic transformation processes in the administration of the capital began.
When asked how Latvians can look to the future with this “baggage” Latvia still carries since the 16th of February, 1990, Teikmanis expressed that people who have survived that time today perceive all changes much more calmly and do not fall into hysterics.
“I don’t think we need to do that today. We live in a much, much safer world than we did then. Back then life could end at any moment – this was also an option,” he said.