RIGA, Oct 6 (LETA) - For Rezekne city and Rezekne muicipality to cooperate closer, no one should wait for the merger planned in 2025, said Rezekne mayor Aleksandrs Bartasevics (Harmony) in an interview with the Latvian public radio today.

He said that at present public transport services in Rezekne municipality are organized by the state and nobidy has asked the municipality what transport network is necessary. "What we can offer - if Rezeknes Satiksme provides this service in Rezekne municipality, we can optimize, improve, make independent decisions," he siad.

Also, he pointed at ways to cooperate in education, developing a joint network. "Already now we are almost one system, but technically two separate municipalities," he said, adding that 20 percent of pupils in the city's schools are from Rezekne municipality.

As reported, of the five state cities, only Rezekne and Daugavpils support possible merger with adjacent municipalities in 2025, according to opinions gathered during the meeting of the Saeima committee on the administrative territorial reform in early October.