He pointed out that the term “cold climate” was a good illustration of the current security situation in Europe, “In the Baltic region, in wintertime cold does not come from the Arctic; it comes from the East, from Russia. We hoped that it will remain the phenomenon that characterizes only the Baltic weather conditions, but I am afraid that the term is also applicable to the security policy of Europe.”
The President of Latvia also focused extensively on the topic of hybrid war and recalled that the threat to use military force in conjunction with economic pressure, energy dependence, and propaganda was not a new phenomenon on its merits, but is wide availability of modern technologies accentuated that especially. ”We, the transatlantic community, are strong enough in terms of military. Yet we are much more vulnerable if someone threatens our critical infrastructure, the principles of market economy, and social cohesion, and exploits our core values such as freedom of expression in a democratic society for their own purposes,” said Raimonds Vējonis.
Apart from the President of Latvia, the President of Estonia Toomas Hendrik Ilves, the US Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy Richard Stengel, US Senator Chris Murphy joined the discussion about the perspectives of the transatlantic security, which was moderated by the expert on Eastern Europe Edward Lucas.
Raimonds Vējonis had the opportunity to outline his vision of strategic challenges in relations between Latvia and Transatlantic at the National Press Club in Washington, where all US presidents have delivered speeches since establishment of that Club in 1908. “Cooperation within NATO has been the basis for transatlantic relations since the end of World War II, and the Alliance is still able to contribute to peace and security thanks to its flexibility, even in the face of challenges such as Russia’s efforts to change national borders by military force,” said the President of Latvia. At the same time, he reminded the need for closer cooperation between Latvia and the USA not only in the area of military, but also in business and power sector. Raimonds Vējonis also answered questions from several journalists about relations between Latvia and Russia, sanctions and food embargo, presence of Russia in Syria, and the challenges the European Union faced regarding placement of refugees.
During the meeting with the Chairman of the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Senator Bob Corker, the President of Latvia thanked the United States for the quick response and firm stance when the conflict in Ukraine emerged. He stressed that closer regional cooperation in addition to strengthening of each country’s defensibility was very important by coordinating collective defence and reducing a response time in the event of potential armed conflict. “Regardless the fact whether stricter sanctions are imposed against Russia or they remain at the current level, one voice and confidence of the EU, the USA and other like-minded partners that violations of international law may not evade punishment are the most important.” Senator Bob Corker affirmed strong US support to Latvia and entire Baltic region in response to new security threats.
On October 1, Raimonds Vējonis met also diplomats and employees of the Embassy of Latvia to the United States of America, informed about his intentions while in the office to facilitate security of Latvia, and emphasized the role of the Embassy of Latvia to the USA while ensuring more intense ties in economics between the two countries. The President of Latvia also visited the Library of Congress and Hirshhorn Gallery, founded by Joseph Herman Hirshhorn born in Jelgava, who was an entrepreneur, art collector, and patron of art.