Latvia plans to sign with Ukraine a treaty on long-term support and security commitments. Latvia plans to provide Ukraine with military support equal to 0.25% of GDP or approximately EUR 112 million this year and in the next two years, according to the report prepared by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Funding will be taken from the budget of the Ministry of Defence.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs notes that the Latvian-Ukrainian treaty on long-term support and security commitments is planned to be signed on the 11th of April during Three Seas Initiative Summit in Vilnius. The treaty will be signed on Latvia’s behalf by President Edgars Rinkēvičs. The agreement between the two countries will be a political and legally non-binding document.
Latvia intends to sign this treaty to to send “a clear and strong signal of support for Ukraine in its fight against the aggressor”. It provides for giving all forms of long-term support to Ukraine in its fight against aggression, as well as support to Ukraine on its path to joining the European Union and NATO.
Ukraine intends to sign bilateral agreements of this kind with all G7 partner countries part of the joint declaration in support of Ukraine, as well as member states of the European Union.
Similar treaties are already signed with Britain, Denmark, France, Italy, Canada, Holland and Germany. Lithuania and Estonia will soon sign such treaties.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs explains the government will need to decide on support to sign the treaty because it covers Latvia’s comprehensive support activities for Ukraine both in military and non-military areas. The implementation of those activities is politically binding for ministries for a period of ten years.
The agreement stipulates that any budgetary commitment on the part of Latvia will be ensured only with the express approval of the Government of Latvia and, when necessary, the Saeima.
The report mentions that the main element of the treaty for military support is Latvia’s continued membership in Ramstein Ukrainian Defence Contact Group in order to provide Ukraine with coordinated military support. Latvia also heads the Drone Coalition, which is intended to supply Ukraine a million drones, military equipment and supplies of arms.
The areas of non-military support concern development cooperation, cooperation in the reconstruction of the Chernihiv region and in the fields of digital, energy and cybersecurity, as well as the prevention of hybrid threats. The agreement also provides for Ukraine’s support for Latvia’s candidacy in the UN Security Council elections in 2025.
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