|Belarus Table of Contents Belarus's relations with Latvia, one
of its major trading partners, have been relatively free of
problems. The border is unchanged from that established in 1940,
so that marking it and establishing normal border controls (so
that both countries could deal with smuggling and illegal
immigration) were fairly straightforward. Neither the 120,000
ethnic Belarusians in Latvia nor the approximately 3,000 ethnic
Latvians living in Belarus reported problems. Belarus and Latvia
have signed a number of agreements. An agreement signed in
December 1991 covered respect for the rights of minorities and
for national borders; Latvian president Guntis Ulmanis and
Belarusian foreign minister Pyotr Krawchanka signed similar
accords in August 1993. In May 1995, the transportation
ministers of both countries signed an agreement on cooperation
in rail transport and communications. Source: U.S. Library of
Congress