On 25 April 2022, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, Edgars Rinkēvičs, met with the Minister of Defence of the Kingdom of Spain, Margarita Robles Fernández, in Madrid. The Ministers discussed defence and security policy issues of current importance, especially Russia’s war in Ukraine and the NATO Summit to be convened in Madrid this summer.
Edgars Rinkēvičs thanked Spain for its participation in the NATO enhanced Forward Presence battle group in Latvia and a regular contribution to the Baltic Air Policing mission. Spain’s decision to increase the number of its troops in Latvia is a step towards a broader strengthening of NATO’s defence and deterrence in the eastern flank of the Alliance, the Minister noted. He underlined that reinforcing NATO’s eastern flank promptly and in the long term in line with proposals by the NATO Secretary General and the Supreme Allied Commander Europe was important for Latvia.
Referring to the upcoming NATO Summit in Madrid this 29-30 June, Edgars Rinkēvičs noted that the highest expectations rested with NATO’s Strategic Concept to be approved at the event. Safeguarding Euro-Atlantic security must remain NATO’s core task. In order to strengthen deterrence and defence, the Concept for the Deterrence and Defence of the Euro-Atlantic must be implemented, defence plans improved, and a new NATO force structure put in place, the Minister said. We expect an agreement to be achieved before the NATO Summit on the establishment of a permanent defence presence in the Baltic States, which is vital under the current security situation, Edgars Rinkēvičs underlined.
The Latvian Foreign Minister offered an opinion that the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO should be supported and such a step would improve security environment in Europe. In addition, NATO should further keep the spotlight on both the principal threats – challenges related to Russia, and the fight against terrorism. At the same time, NATO should focus on its global agenda covering topics such as China, technologies, and climate change.
The Minister expressed conviction that it was essential for European Allies to continue investing in the strengthening of their defence capabilities; therefore, Latvia has committed to increasing its defence budget to 2.5% of its GDP.
The officials also exchanged views on support for Ukraine. Edgars Rinkēvičs welcomed Spain’s decision to double its military assistance to Ukraine.