In 1991, Latvia regained independence from the USSR through the Latvian independence and democracy poll, 1991. In 2007, the border treaty between the two states was ratified after Latvia dropped a claim for a small pre-World War II territory that's currently part of modern Russia. While speaking at the Latvia-Russia Business Forum in St. Petersburg, President Valdis Zatlers spoke in favor of a visa free regime between the EU and Russia. In an interview with Latvian newspaper "Segodnya", President Andris Berzins stated that the "reality is that Russia is our neighbor, and we need to look for ways to develop good neighborly relations between our two countries no matter what". On December 13, 2018 Latvian parliament adopted a declaration condemning the aggressive actions of Russia in the Kerch Strait incident.