Foreign Minister Maris Riekstins stresses necessity to continue Riga Conference tradition

On 31 October, when opening the Riga Conference, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Maris Riekstins emphasised the necessity to continue the Riga Conference tradition established by the NATO Summit of the heads of state and government in 2006. "The previous Riga Conference bridged NATO summits in Riga and in Bucharest, and today we have an opportunity to discuss the changes which have taken place in the world after the Russia-Georgia conflict, and following the global financial crisis and Ireland's negative vote on the Lisbon Treaty", Minister Riekstins noted.

The Foreign Minister also observed that on the eve of its 60th anniversary NATO will have to take some by no means easy decisions, and at the same time, the European Union will have to reassess its relations with neighbouring countries.

On 1 November, Foreign Minister Riekstins, together with the U.S. Ambassador to NATO, Kurt Volker, former Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, Boris Nemtsov, and Dr. James Sherr, a researcher from the Royal Institute of International Affairs are taking part in the Riga Conference panel discussion regarding future relations with Russia. The discussion will be moderated by Tomas Valasek, Director for Foreign Policy and Defence of the Centre for European Reform.

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