Looking after the safety of the Baltic Sea region, the topic of the possible closure of the Baltic Sea should “remain on the table”, said President of Latvia Edgars Rinkēvičs in his interview to TV3.
When asked how to increase the safety of critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea, Rinkēvičs said that it is necessary to increase patrols at sea and more actively introduce sanctions against the Russian shadow fleet. For example, NATO is talking about stepping up joint patrols.
At the same time, according to the president, it is important to keep the topic of possible closure of the Baltic Sea “on the table”. This would be a very important step. It was mentioned in the past but was met with various objections.
The president also added that almost 2 000 different vessels cruise the Baltic Sea every day, adding that it is impossible to control all of them.
Asked to assess what Latvia’s security priorities should be in general this year, the President emphasized the need to complete the construction of the Eastern border and continue the construction of the military infrastructure. It is also expected that the defence will have to redirect an even larger part of the state budget, with investments reaching as much as 4% of the gross domestic product.
When asked about Latvia’s security priorities this year, the president emphasized the need to complete the construction of the Eastern border and continue the construction of the military infrastructure. It is also expected that the defence will have to redirect an even larger part of the state budget, with investments reaching as much as 4% of the gross domestic product.
It will also be necessary to complete the reinforcement of domestic security, he added.
The encouragement to NATO colleagues to invest more in defence from US President-elect Donald Trump’s was mentioned by Rinkēvičs as justified.
Baltic States, meanwhile, are working on organising meetings with Trump as soon as possible, said the Latvian President.