There is no reason to doubt the guarantees provided by NATO Article 5, but even in a worst case scenario Latvia will have its own tasks to complete, Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs mentioned on Facebook, responding to the public discussion about the speed of response from NATO allies in the event of a war.
The president said that Article 5 of the 1949 Washington Treaty states that “the Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all and consequently they agree that, if such an armed attack occurs, each of them, in exercise of the right of individual or collective self-defence recognized by Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, will assist the Party or Parties so attacked by taking forthwith, individually and in concert with the other Parties, such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area.”
For 75 years this legal and political commitment has been provided by NATO military structures.
After the illegal occupation of Crimea in 2014 and, to ensure the immediate implementation of Article 5 in the event of an attack, NATO decided at multiple summits to station allied forces along the alliance’s eastern flank, Latvia included. Plans were clarified and the presence of allied forces was corrected as the situation changed, said Rinkēvičs.
Realising that a political decision takes time to make, but, for defence to be effective from the first moment, the Supreme Allied Commander-in-Chief of NATO forces in Europe has been delegated authority to take the necessary steps to implement regional defence plans. As the situation changes, plans and specific steps are adapted, but details are non-disclosable.
At the same time, it is every member state’s task to take care of its security and preparedness, and this is why it is important for Latvian National Armed Forces to develop and prepare. The same applies to national security in general. We will receive assistance, but also have to take care of ourselves.
The president reminded that Section 8 of National Security Law details responsibility for the initiation of Article 5. The law states that in the event of a military invasion the president is to immediately request NATO collective support and authorise NATO to perform measures the alliance may consider necessary, including use of force, in order to preserve and restore Latvia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The president is also to make the decision regarding Latvia’s position if another NATO member state requests collective defensive support if the Cabinet of Ministers is too slow with its decision.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2014 and 2022, NATO has done much to improve collective defence. In the event of a military invasion, the first counter-steps will have to be taken by our armed forces, allied forces already deployed here and the Alliance as a whole. Of course, in parallel, there will also be mobilisation and transfer of allied forces to the “Article 5 region,” the president stressed.
“And so there is no reason to doubt the guarantees of Article 5. At the same time, we have to keep in mind that we will have our own tasks to complete if the worst case scenario comes to pass,” said the president.
In the event of Russia’s invasion, Lithuania will need to be able to hold out at least two weeks, according to retired US army Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges.
Hodges stressed at the Vilnius Security Forum in Lithuania’s Seima last week that Article 5 of the NATO Treaty, which states that an attack on one member state is an attack on the alliance as a whole,
is not automatic because it requires political will.
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