Riga, Sept 25 (LETA) - The ruling coalition of the Riga City Council is more stable than ever, Riga Mayor Viesturs Kleinbergs (Progressives) said in an interview to the Latvian public television (LTV).

The mayor was asked about the stability of the coalition in view of the differences between him and Vice Mayor Edvards Ratnieks (National Alliance) on the need to crack down on illegal migrants in the capital.

Although Ratnieks has repeatedly promised to regularly and systematically fight illegal migrants in Riga, including the Riga Municipal Police, Kleinbergs has publicly stated that this is not a priority for him.

Also in an interview with LTV on Thursday, Kleinbergs said that the top of his list of priorities as the mayor of Riga is currently the repair of the Vansu Bridge, the salaries of municipal police officers and social workers, next year's budget, street repairs, and so on.

The Municipal Police has repeatedly assured Kleinbergs that no special resources have been allocated to the fight against illegal migration in Riga, and that the Municipal Police will not be the ones to organize raids to catch illegal migrants. However, in order to ensure public order, the police can, if necessary, participate in such raids within the limits of its competence, Kleinbergs added.

Given these different visions of the Riga mayor and vice mayor, Kleinbergs was asked in an interview with LTV how stable the Riga City Council coalition is now, to which the mayor replied, "I would say it is more stable than ever."