He said that Latvia has to have "a bit larger [allied] unit" present than currently, and it's needed in the long term, with the precise length of "long term" depending on the international political situation and tendencies in Russia.
Latvia also has to develop its own army.
"We can't be only consumers of security. We have to develop our own fighting capabilities," he said.
Latvia also has to work on developing training grounds, equipment sites and places where allied soldiers could live.
He said that the Defense Ministry has not ruled out introducing conscription in Latvia, however according to him at the moment compulsory military service - introduced by Lithuania recently and present in Estonia for years - is not financially feasible.
"At the moment we are reviewing other options of increasing the number of our forces. If we take the conditions of hybrid warfare into account, our soldiers have to be ready 24 hours a day, seven days a week," said Karlsbergs.
"However preparing them takes a lot of time - no less than six months, ideally nine months. They undergo training and then leave service. [..]," he said.
"On the one hand, we would have more trained reserve soldiers, however I'm not sure we can afford it from a financial standpoint," he said.
"The current challenges require soldiers that are ready for action day and night," concluded the Defense Ministry official.
