Latvia expects specific suggestions from Russia in order to lessen its aggressive activities near the Latvian border

Having noted the letters of Russia wherein Russia has extended invitation for the security consultations in Moscow in order to discuss further military cooperation at the level of experts, the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Latvia points out that it expects specific suggestions from the side of Russia in order to lessen its aggressive activities near the Latvian border.

In response to the letter, the Ministry of Defence draws the attention of Russia to the fact that the position taken by Latvia has not changed and it does not see a possibility to renew the political and military dialogue that was suspended after Russia annexed Crimea in spring of 2014 and after aggression in the east of Ukraine.

At the same time, the Ministry of Defence has pointed out to Russia that it is interested in promoting transparency in the region, as well as lessening the threat of incidents above the Baltic Sea in order to reduce the tension caused by Russia's aggressive military activities and infrastructure developments near the borders of Latvia.

Taking into account the above mentioned, the Ministry of Defence has invited Russia to discuss its suggestions in already existing formats of cooperation, including NATO-Russia Council and Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

Regarding the above mentioned bilateral measures for promotion of trust and transparency, Ministry of Defence has invited Russia to offer specific suggestions of how it is willing to promote transparency in relation to military infrastructure and training in the Western Military District.

The Ministry of Defence reminds again that since 2003 Latvia has extended an offer to Russia to agree on additional bilateral inspections that have been consistently rejected so far. Similarly, Latvia has invited Russia to cooperation within the framework of Vienna Document, taking into consideration that so far not all options provided by the Vienna Document have been used. The Document defines annual voluntary exchange of military information among the member states (57 countries). If Russia has specific suggestions regarding promotion of military transparency, the Ministry of Defence will be ready to discuss these suggestions.

Information prepared by:
Kaspars Galkins
Director of Military Public Relations department of MoD
Telephone: 67335085
E-mail: kaspars.galkins@mod.gov.lv