Even if hostilities in Ukraine were frozen this year, it should not be seen as a solution that would allow Latvia to relax about its security or reduce its own security-strengthening efforts, said Kaspars Pudāns, Commander of the National Armed Forces of Latvia, in an interview this morning on Latvian Television’s program Rīta panorāma.
Assessing Latvia’s overall security situation, Pudāns noted that it depends on several factors, including developments such as the U.S. attack on Venezuela, but stressed that the greatest impact continues to come from Russia’s war against Ukraine.
The NAF commander added that the parliamentary elections scheduled to take place in Latvia this autumn will also be significant. Overall, however, Pudāns does not foresee major changes in the key factors influencing Latvia’s security situation.
The army chief also said that this year more than half of the defense budget will be allocated to strengthening military capabilities. As a result, development may appear somewhat unbalanced, but this is necessary because the development of these capabilities lagged behind in previous years, when before the start of the war in Ukraine the Latvian armed forces were focused on other priorities.
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