On 17 July Prime Minister Evika Siliņa, Minister of Foreign Affairs Baiba Braže and Minister of Defense Andris Sprūds all met separately with the co-chair of the House Baltic Caucus, Representative Don Bacon, and a Caucus member, Representative Salud Carbajal. The officials discussed political, economic and defence cooperation between Latvia and the United States, the recent NATO Summit in Washington, support to Ukraine, as well as international developments, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
"During the conversation, the Minister thanked Congressmen Don Bakon and Salud Karbahal for [the] contribution made by the House Baltic Caucus of the U.S. Congress to the strengthening of ties between the U.S. and the Baltic States, and of the Baltic States’ security though support for the Baltic Security Initiative (BSI) in the Congress. The Minister [Braže] commended U.S. leadership in the strengthening of transatlantic security and underlined the importance of U.S. presence in the Baltics to reinforce deterrence and defence capabilities, addressing the threat posed by Russia," said a release from the Ministry.
“Latvia greatly appreciates the U.S. leadership and the broad support of both parties in Congress for the transatlantic Alliance and to Ukraine in its fight against the aggressor,” said Baiba Braže.
The Congressmen are staying in Latvia from 16 to 18 July as part of their regional visit to the Baltic States.
