According to him, “The armed forces of Belarus and Russia, as well as the special services, are cooperating closely, and now we are seeing attempts at economic integration. However, it can be felt that Minsk is still resisting Moscow in the current circumstances. ” The foreign minister said that Russian President Vladimir Putin wanted to redistribute spheres of influence and draw red lines, or in other words, to hold a modified “Yalta 2”.
The second thing, which was not discussed extensively in the discussion, but is also very important in terms of the NATO-US response to the crises in Europe, is the Chinese factor. In turn, the third thing that Rinkēvičs sees as a risk factor in the coming months is the migration explosion from Afghanistan, which would most directly affect both Latvia and the European Union (EU) as a whole. According to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, such events cannot be ruled out and should therefore be considered. There are a number of possible ways forward in this area.
“Therefore, our first goal is undoubtedly to do everything to ensure that Latvia’s border and security are protected. It is not a general phrase, but a real job that the border guard, the armed forces and the police are currently doing very well,” says Edgars Rinkēvičs. The second big task is to strengthen NATO’s presence in Latvia, which he will discuss both with the US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and at the forthcoming meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers.
CONTEXT:
Latvia is constantly working to strengthen and expand NATO’s presence, said Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs and Minister of Defense Artis Pabriks (AP).
Rinkēvičs told LETA on Thursday that Latvia is working to expand NATO’s presence in line with security challenges in the region, but there will be no more detailed comments.
The Minister of Defense Artis Pabriks (AP) also confirmed that negotiations and work on a possible expansion of NATO’s presence in Latvia are ongoing.
“The classic we can discuss about the presence of our allies is, for example, the different types of armaments and procurement plans in the United States related to air defense and coastguards. We have our wishes, but the result can be achieved if we reach an agreement with our partners. “The talks are ongoing and we are working on it all the time,” said Pabriks.
He stressed that the details are being negotiated at the level of experts from the Ministry of Defense and the National Armed Forces.
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