On 28 January, President of Latvia Egils Levits and Speaker of the Saeima Ināra Mūrniece, Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš, Foreign Affairs Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs, Chair of the Saeima Foreign Affairs Committee Rihards Kols and State Secretary of Ministry of Defence Jānis Garisons met at the Riga Castle to discuss current foreign policy and security priorities.
Statement by President Levits’ following the meeting:
‘During today’s meeting, chief foreign and security policy officials and I exchanged views about the effect of Russia’s aggressive policy towards Ukraine and ultimatum to NATO members on our security. I want to reiterate: current situation is the direct consequence of Russia’s actions.
We discussed the response of NATO and the United States of America (USA) to Russia’s demands, only to conclude that it is in line with NATO core values and our national interests. Latvia was actively involved in formulating NATO’s position. Position, which duly reflects all core values, such as ‘open door policy’ towards countries seeking membership in NATO and part in collective defence. NATO also proposed to establish arms control dialogue with Russia, a direct channel, and take urgent actions in order to reduce the risks of military conflict.
USA’s response has also been closely coordinated with partners in NATO. I also had the opportunity to contribute to it by voicing Latvia’s concerns during the call between Bucharest Nine (B9) group and US President Joe Biden. US has always been keen on giving clear messages about its negotiation position to its partners and Latvia is confident that USA’s response is fully in line with NATO and Latvia’s interests.
NATO and US have given a very firm and clear answer. We do not accept the demands made by Russia and there is nothing more to discuss there. We urge Russia to accept bilateral dialogue with NATO and USA based on fundamental principles of NATO. With ultimatums on either side there can be no dialogue. Russia should withdraw all its demands and ultimatums.
We also talked about helping Ukraine. Military assistance was one of the options discussed. Latvia stands in full solidarity with Ukraine. We are fully committed to working with our Allies to ensure full security of Latvia, our region, Europe, and the whole NATO. We are part of NATO’s collective solidarity and NATO stands in solidarity with us.’