YEREVAN. - Majority of Armenians seeking to obtain Latvian citizenship use it to resettle in Western Europe, Latvia’s citizen of Armenian descent, student Arevik Paronyan said during the meeting organized by “Sardarapat” initiative group.

Born in Estonia, Arevik has been living in Latvia from early childhood. According to her, the Armenian community in Latvia makes 3 thousand people who “are well integrated into Latvian society.” Approximately half of them are citizens of Latvia, the rest have residence permit. Latvian citizenship greatly facilitates settlement in the Western Europe. Accordingly, Armenians prefer their children attend Latvian schools.

The largest Armenian church in Baltic countries was opened in Riga in 2009. The community has a Sunday school and Ararat newspaper. According to Arevik Paronyan, most Armenians are engaged in restaurant business in Riga and resort city of Jurmala.