The visit will be brief but busy, with the schedule including a visit to the Ādaži military base where Rutte will watch a demonstration of the "Resolute Warrior" military exercise carried out by the multinational NATO brigade in Latvia in the morning, followed by a joint press conference (see below) with Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs around noon, after which the pair will embark on an "inspection of military equipment" according to Rutte's schedule.
"Resolute Warrior 2024" will also be attended by Speaker of the Saeima Daiga Mieriņa, Minister of Foreign Affairs Baiba Braže, Minister of Defense Andris Sprūds, Commander of the National Armed Forces Lieutenant General Leonids Kalniņš, and mscellaneous officials of NATO and allied countries.
Rutte visited Estonia back in October and has been gradually working his way around the NATO member states on introductory visits.
Last month Latvian Prime Minister Evika Siliņa dropped in on him at home in Brussels. Rutte will return the compliment on Thursday, visiting Siliņa at the Latvian government building in the afternoon.
Mark Rutte took office as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s 14th Secretary General on October 1, succeeding Jens Stoltenberg. Rutte is a former long-time Prime Minister of the Netherlands.
Speaking to the press at Ādaži, Rutte praised newly-elected American President Donald Trump, saying:
"I had a very good working relationship with him [while prime minister of the Netherlands]. He will do everything needed to defend the United States and he is well aware that membership of NATO is part of the defense of the U.S." said Rutte, switching to describe how it is "China through sanctions circumvention, through dual-use goods they deliver into Russia which is helping Russia with the war effort [in Ukraine]."
"So Russia, China, North Korea, Iran are working together – the U.S. understands this, that NATO is there not only to defend Europe and the U.S. but also to work together to make sure that the Pacific and the trans-Atlantic stay safe. And I look forward to working with Donald Trump. We had a good phone call last week. We have worked as friends when I was prime minister, we will do so again when he becomes the new president of the U.S."
For his part Rinkēvičs offered only a pithy comment saying "Do more on defense and you will be just fine."
Both men insisted that a path to NATO membership remains open to Ukraine and on Russia's war, Rutte stated categorically: "It is only the Ukrainian government which can decide to start talks with Russia on how to end this. But they have to do this from a position of strength. And that is why we need to continue to deliver defense aid into Ukraine to ensure that they will be in a position of strength when the day comes... we have made clear in NATO that their future will be in NATO."
There is an "irreversible path towards NATO membership for Ukraine," Rutte said.
"Let's face it, we also see that Russia is not willing to sit at the table. Russia, actually, is stepping up military operations and activities... Russia must sit at the table and Russia must be willing to negotiate," said Rinkēvičs.
Regarding Ukraine's membership of NATO, Rinkēvičs affirmed: "It's not about 'if' but it's about 'when'," though he also added that persuading all member states to agree to Ukraine's membership might be challenging.
