The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, Edgars Rinkēvičs, welcomed the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia, Eva-Maria Liimets; the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, Gabrielius Landsbergis; and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland, Zbigniew Rau.
During their visit to Latvia, the Ministers were due to discuss cooperation towards the strengthening of the region’s security, and support for Ukraine.
.@edgarsrinkevics at the meeting of 🇱🇻🇪🇪🇱🇹🇵🇱 FMs in #Riga: “We want to achieve permanent presence of #NATO troops in the #BalticStates and #Poland, which would enable us to resist any threat from Russia and Belarus and protect every inch of our territory.”https://t.co/DxIcxz8FIx pic.twitter.com/w1PaueGUvL
— Latvian MFA 🇱🇻 | #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 (@Latvian_MFA) April 29, 2022
"The Ministers of Foreign Affairs exchanged views on key issues of transatlantic security ahead of the NATO Summit to be held in Madrid at the end of June. They underlined the need for strengthening and expanding permanent presence of NATO forces in the eastern flank of the Alliance. Edgars Rinkēvičs noted that current changes in the security situation in the region calls for refocusing NATO’s deterrence and security policy. We want to achieve permanent presence of NATO troops in the Baltic States and Poland, which would enable us to resist any threat from Russia and Belarus and protect every inch of our territory, the Minister said. The Ministers also agreed on further cooperation in the energy sector in order to ensure independence from Russia’s resources in the shortest possible time," said a release from the Latvian MFA.
"The officials then discussed the most effective ways of helping Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s military aggression. The Foreign Ministers were of the same mind that deliveries of military equipment and weapons must be continued and increased. In addition, the sanction regime against Russia must be reinforced by envisaging further restrictive measures in the energy sector," the Ministry said.
