On 4 March 2022, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, Edgars Rinkēvičs, took part in the Extraordinary Meeting of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs held in Brussels, Belgium. He underlined at the event that the NATO alliance should immediately step up work on short-term and long-term defence and deterrence measures, especially on NATO’s eastern flank.
Edgars Rinkēvičs stated that Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine, carried out with support from Belarus, has aggravated the security situation in the region of the Baltic Sea countries. Therefore, steps must be taken to increase security on NATO’s eastern flank, with a special focus on the strengthening of air defence and anti-missile capabilities in the region.
The Minister also highlighted the need for further increase in NATO’s budget. He underlined that Latvia had already expressed commitment to increasing its defence budget to 2.5 per cent of GDP. Edgars Rinkēvičs urged the other NATO members to follow the lead so as to reinforce Allied security and disperse concerns among the public regarding any possible armed threat to the NATO alliance.
The Latvian Foreign Minister called on NATO member states to continue providing all possible support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s aggression. Edgars Rinkēvičs also added that Western partners should move on with implementing new sanctions against Russia in order to reduce its economic and military capabilities to further pursue its aggression.