Latvian officials train for regional military crisis

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The readiness of Latvian high-level government to perform in a regional military crisis was tested during military exercises that took place Tuesday at the National Armed Forces base in Lielvārde, Latvian Television reported.

Among the people at the Lielvārde air base were President Raimonds Vējonis, almost all of the members of the Cabinet of Ministers of Laimdota Straujuma, along with the PM herself and representatives of Saeima and national security.

The Kristaps 2015 exercise was based on the scenario that one of the regions in Latvia has been destabilized and escalates to a crisis with military and civil elements, reported BNS newswire.

According to Defense Minister Raimonds Bergmanis, the scenario included the possibility of formation of illegal armed groups. The minister emphasized that the exercise took into account existing threats and challenges to safety.

Another key point of the exercise was the participation of a neighboring state that has aggravated the situation in the destabilized region.

The country is aided by NATO allies in the scenario.

According to PM Laimdota Straujuma, the exercise was quite similar to a real state of war.

The concurrent Arcade Fusion 2015 exercise, taking place from November 9 to November 17 as well as the Baltic Host maneuvers during which the Baltic states train for admitting allied forces, project similar circumstances in the country, added BNS. 

Lieutenant-General Tim Evans, the Commander of the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps, underscored that "These exercises provide a great opportunity to better understand the support that the Latvian government and ministries are able to provide for the NATO forces that would be stationed in the country."

The exercise was carried out during an extraordinary session of the government. It took place in secret. The participants were tasked with declaring a state of emergency in the country and with working out an action plan for ministries and government structures.

The PM told BNS that the activities of the National Armed Forces, the arrival of the allies and as well as finance, food and logistics matters were perfected during the exercise. 

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