Latvian gov't will survive disagreements over refugee issue: President

Disagreements over Europe's migrant crisis are unlikely to lead to the disintegration of Latvia's current centre-right government, President Raimonds Vejonis said.

The Latvian president said during an interview with public radio Friday that two coalition partners, the rightist National Alliance and centrist Greens and Farmers Union (ZZS), were using the contentious issue of refugees to boost their popularity.

Meanwhile, ratings of the third coalition partner, the centre-right Unity, have been dropping because of the party's support for the admission of refugees in line with the European Commission's plan.

"It is irresponsible for politicians to act in this way, because we need a clear position on refugees," the president said, adding that Latvia had to demonstrate solidarity and take in a certain number of refugees.

"We are first in line when we need European money," Vejonis said, noting material interests in society are now prevailing over humanitarian considerations.

The ruling parties are struggling with a cooperation crisis, but it does not seem likely that the current government and coalition might collapse, Vejonis said.

Latvia's three ruling parties have so far remained divided on the refugee issue, with the Unity backing the admission of 526 more people in addition to the 250 asylum seekers Latvia had offered to take in voluntarily.

ZZS agreed to the relocation of the 250 refugees to Latvia and the National Alliance rejecting any admission of migrants altogether.

Earlier this week, Vejonis gave the government two weeks to work out a plan for the admission of refugees in Latvia after ruling parties failed to reach an agreement on Latvia's official stance on the issue.

At an extraordinary meeting on Thursday, the government adopted an official position under which Latvia will be taking in 776 refugees. Endit