On 24 March 2021, in the margins of the meeting of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs in Brussels, the Foreign Ministers of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia met with the United States Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, for a discussion on current NATO policy, cooperation between the U.S. and the Baltic States on security and defence, and the latest developments in regional security, as well as the situation in Russia, Belarus, and China.
The Latvian Foreign Minister, Edgars Rinkēvičs, expressed his appreciation for America’s vital unwavering support for Baltic security and defence. U.S. leadership in NATO is important to Latvia, Edgars Rinkēvičs underlined. The Minister confirmed that Latvia will be continuing to make its contribution to NATO’s collective efforts.
Edgars Rinkēvičs expressed his confidence that the close dialogue between the Baltic States and the U.S. on regional matters shall continue. The Latvian Foreign Minister also highly commended the U.S. dialogue with Allies and the return of the U.S. to the global arena as it renews participation in multilateral formats. Edgars Rinkēvičs underlined that it is essential to go ahead with a united transatlantic position on matters of high importance for our region, such and Russia, Belarus, China, as well as coordinating actions on sanctions.
The Foreign Minister noted that Latvia together with a number of like-minded countries has always opposed the Nord Stream 2 project, being convinced that this political project will increase the EU’s energy dependence on a single supplier.
The Baltic States’ Foreign Ministers agreed on strengthening of the Three Seas Initiative, speaking positively about U.S. engagement and support for the initiative till now as well as support from the new U.S. administration. Ministers stressed the importance of sustaining the dynamics of development of the Three Seas Initiative.