Latvian Prime Minister Silina resigns over handling of Ukraine drone incidents

By Janis Laizans

May 14 (Reuters) – Latvia’s centre-right Prime Minister Evika Silina said she would resign on Thursday, triggering the collapse of her coalition government just months before an election is due in October.

“I am resigning, but I am not giving up,” she said in a televised statement.

Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics, who is tasked by the constitution to select a leader of the government, will meet all parliamentary parties on Friday.

Silina, of the centre-right New Unity party, was left without a ruling majority in the parliament on Wednesday after the left-wing Progressives party said it was withdrawing its support.

The decision followed the firing at the weekend of Progressives’ Defence Minister Andris Spruds over the handling of incidents involving stray Ukrainian drones flying into Latvia from Russia.

(Reporting by Janis Laizans, writing by Andrius Sytas)