RIGA, July 2 (LETA--MEDUZA) - Russia has banned Riga Mayor Martins Stakis (For/Progressives) from entering the country, Russian Foreign Ministry's spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

The reason for such a decision is the fact that during the World Ice Hockey Championship in Riga this past May removed Russian flags in the center of Riga and replaced them with flags of the Russian Olympic Committee.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said that this step showed disrespect to Russian state symbols. Russia said that the sanctions of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), banning to use Russian flags should not be applied in this case because they refer to the sports venues, not the city center.

"In the current difficult socio-economic situation facing Latvia, the Riga mayor should better think about the development of trade-economic ties with Russian regions, as his predecessors did successfully, instead of engaging in political hooliganism," Zakharova said. 

Now, it will be more difficult for the mayor to develop trade and economic contacts with Russia, since he is on the list of the people banned from entering the country, she said.

Stakis, commenting on the situation in a Twitter post, said that there is so much to be done in Riga that he had not even planned to visit Russia.

"I receive thousands of support messages from freedom-loving residents of Belarus and Russia. I support them! Maybe that is the reason I am declared persona-non-grata in Russia," said Stakis.