Commander of Latvian National Armed Forces (NBS) Kaspars Pudāns has no concern about NATO member states potentially being unable or unwilling to support one another.
In his interview to LTV programme Rīta panorāma, Pudāns said that with the new power in US, uncertainties and polemics may affect Russia’s understanding of what is happening in NATO and could lead to miscalculated decisions.
He noted that Russia is actively exploiting the situation and is trying to divide allies and peoples. It is precisely the information operations that Russia is trying to use now, because it is not able to sufficiently restore military capabilities in the conditions of the current war.
Currently, with the war in Ukraine, both the destruction and development of the Russian armed forces are taking place, said Pudāns, who does not believe in Russia’s public expression of the desire for peace.
Pudāns refrained from judging whether the US could withdraw its units from Europe and Latvia, but hopes that the US leadership will still listen to the opinion of its military that European security is also the security of the US itself.
The NBS commander, however, conceded that the US may review the presence of individual troops, but it is essential that the US retains elements of combat capabilities in Europe, especially in areas where Europe has capability shortages, such as air force and air defence.
In Latvia, US forces are stationed on basis of rotation. They are not part of Latvia’s defence plans, which are based on the permanent forces in the country, said Pudāns.
In turn, speaking about the increase in the defence budget, Pudāns noted that the NBS budget requests are not based on numbers from GDP, but on specific needs for armaments, ammunition and personnel.
He stressed that the army needs more resources to develop capabilities that Latvia technically already has, but which need to be made more powerful and sustainable.