On 4 April 2023, in Brussels, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, Edgars Rinkēvičs attended a meeting of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs, during which Finland became a full-fledged member NATO. The meeting also included a session of the NATO-Ukraine Commission with the participation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba.
The Latvian Foreign Minister congratulated Finland on joining NATO. This is a historic milestone that will contribute considerably to the security of the Baltic Sea region and the Alliance. The minister said he hoped that Sweden would become a full member of NATO by the time the NATO Summit in Vilnius is due in July this year, thus strengthening stability in the transatlantic space.
From Latvia’s perspective, the accession of Finland and Sweden will consolidate NATO’s leading role in the Baltic Sea region – in the air, at sea and on land.
As regards the meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission, Edgars Rinkēvičs stated that this was an important signal for close cooperation between NATO and Ukraine, as well as an important format for promoting practical cooperation.
“NATO’s Vilnius Summit should be a strategic summit; therefore, I call for an assessment of how to further deepen the strategic partnership with Ukraine in the long term. At the moment, every effort must be made to strengthen Ukraine’s defence capabilities against Russia. Latvia, for its part, will continue to provide all the necessary support to Ukraine,” Edgars Rinkēvičs reaffirmed.
Photo: NATO Newsroom