Raimonds Vējonis
The enhanced Forward Presence demonstrates the unity of the Alliance and sends a clear signal that the Allies are ready to defend every member state against any possible aggression, as President of Latvia Raimonds Vējonis emphasised during his meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Monday, 19 June 2017.

 

The meeting took place after the officials had attended the opening ceremony of the enhanced Forward Presence battle group able of fulfilling combat tasks in a critical situation and protect Latvia if necessary. The President of Latvia stressed that Latvia was doing its utmost to host the enhanced Forward Presence.

 

“Deployment of battlegroups is a measure of collective deterrence that should reduce the willingness of potential aggressors to challenge NATO nations. At the same time, we must continue to strengthen our self-defence and resilience capabilities. Therefore, measures must be taken to deal effectively with hybrid threats,” stated Raimonds Vējonis. He outlined that close practical cooperation should be developed within NATO to reduce the threats to cyber-security as well as to implement the measures of strategic communication.

 

During the conversation, the officials also discussed the security situation in the region and elsewhere in the world.