On April 21–22 Vice Minister of National Defence Margiris Abukevičius is visiting Riga. He had a meeting with State Secretary of the Ministry of Defence of Latvia Jānis Garisons on the security situation, assistance to Ukraine, joint Baltic projects and new initiatives. Vice Minister also met with Latvia’s cybersecurity personnel on opportunities for cooperation in the area.
“Russia’s war in Ukraine has changed the security environment irreversibly. Russia is a long-term threat to the Alliance, particularly, the Baltic states. We have discussed the desired changes in the Alliance’s deterrence and defence with the Estonian and Latvian colleagues with that in mind. NATO presence in the Baltics must be significantly increased, so that it would not only deter but also be ready for the defence of the Alliance territory effectively and immediately. We need to have forward-deployed equipment, ammunition and stocks,” says M. Abukevičius.
On April 22 Vice Minister joined the Lithuanian delegation for the Baltic Prime Ministers’ meeting which addressed the Baltic security cooperation, upcoming NATO Summit in Madrid this summer, sanctions on Russian and Belarus, and energy security.
M. Abukevičius will conclude his visit to Riga with the Senior Leaders Course at the Baltic Defence College. He will join State Secretary of the Ministry of Defence of Latvia Jānis Garisons and Permanent Secretary of the Estonian Ministry of Defence Kusti Salm for a discussion on the security of NAATO’s eastern flank countries in the wake of the Russian brutality in Ukraine.
