KIEV, September 30 (RAPSI) – Ukraine to ask Latvia to intervene as a third party in its suit against Russia filed in the European Court of Human Rights, RIA Novosti reported on Monday, citing Ukrainian Justice Minister Pavlo Petrenko.

Ukraine has filed a claim seeking compensation for Russia’s annexation of Crimea, which Kiev has assessed at over 1 trillion hryvnias (about $100 billion as of the filing date). Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk has said that Ukraine would sue Russia over every item of property it lost in Crimea.

The Russian argument is that the Crimean referendum and subsequence reunification of Crimea with Russia were completely legitimate. President Vladimir Putin said the referendum was held in accordance with international law and the UN Charter.

Russian Ambassador to the EU Vladimir Chizhov said Ukraine’s lawsuit over Crimea had no chance of success.

Crimea, a largely Russian-speaking republic and part of Russia until Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev gave it to Ukraine in 1954, moved for independence from Ukraine after having refused to recognize the legitimacy of the new government that came to power following the ouster of President Viktor Yanukovych in February.

On March 17, Putin signed a decree recognizing Crimea as an independent state. The same day, Putin and the leaders of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol signed a treaty on the unification of Crimea with Russia.