RIGA, May 13 (LETA) - The sum necessary to demolish the Soviet-era monument in Pardaugava, Riga, has not been estimated yet, but it will not be a cheap process, said Riga Mayor Martins Stakis at the Riga City Council extraordinary meeting today.

He said that the demolishing process will be planned by Riga Municipal Monument Agency and other involved institutions.

The Riga City Council on Friday held a remote extraordinary meeting on dismantling of the monument. The meeting is broadcast also on the council's internet website.

As reported, Saeima on Thursday passed in the final reading amendments to the agreements the Republic of Latvia and the Russian Federation signed in Moscow on April 30, 1994, drafted by the Foreign Ministry to remove legal obstacles to dismantling the monument to Soviet soldiers in Riga's Pardaugava.

The monument has been a subject of controversy for a long time already, and now has been raised again in relation to Russia's war in Ukraine. 

The monument was built in the time period between 1979 and 1985 to commemorate the Soviet Army's victory over Nazi Germany in World War II, but now it is seen as dedication to the aggressor country - Russia.

In 1997, members of ultra-nationalist organization Perkonkrusts tried to blow up the monument, two of them died during explosion.