AMSTERDAM: Six asylum-seekers have arrived in Latvia, the first of 531 the nation has agreed to accept as part of the European Union's relocation scheme.

Interior Ministry spokeswoman Ilze Petersone-Godmane says the two families of two adults and one child each "have expressed willingness to learn Latvian and integrate" in this Baltic country of nearly 2 million inhabitants.

Petersone-Godmane told Latvian Public Broadcasting Saturday the families had wanted to come to the country.

The Baltic News Service agency said the families from Eritrea and Syria arrived late Friday. They were taken to a refugee center near Riga, the capital, where they had their fingerprints taken and their asylum request was filed.