Latvia says damage from 'Soviet occupation' at 185 bln euros
RIGA. April 18 (Interfax) - The Latvian commission established to estimate the damage inflicted to the Latvian state during the period that it was part of the Soviet Union, said the damage done is equivalent to 185 billion euros, the Delfi news website said on Monday.
Latvia's demographic losses alone could be more than several tens of billions of euros, the Commission's spokesperson Ruta Pazdere said.
In 2014, Pazdere told reporters that the total amount of the damage done to Latvia by the "Soviet occupation" could be in excess of 300 billion euros.
The Commission includes experts from the Latvian Prosecutor General's Office, the Latvian War Museum, the Baltic-Nordic Research Center, the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia, the Latvian Society of the Occupation Researchers, University of Latvia, Latvia's Economy Ministry, Defense Ministry, Foreign Ministry, and the Latvian Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development.
The Commission operated in 2005-2009 but then had to suspend its activity due to the lack of financing amid the economic crisis. The Latvian government resolved to resume its work on November 5, 2013.