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On 20 February 2026, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Baiba Braže, met with the new U.S. Ambassador to Latvia, Melissa Argyros. The officials discussed existing bilateral cooperation between Latvia and the United States of America, as well as explored ways to deepen the cooperation in the areas of security and defence, the economy, energy, and new technologies.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Baiba Braže:
“The United States of America is a strategic ally of Latvia and has historically played an invaluable role in Latvia’s independence and development. Latvia congratulates the United States of America on its 250th anniversary of independence. Next year, we will celebrate 105 years of diplomatic relations between Latvia and the United States of America. The United States of America has never recognised the occupation of the Baltic states.
I greatly value the significant role of the United States of America in ensuring the security of Latvia and the Baltic region, including the presence of U.S. troops, their regular participation in military trainings in Latvia, the Baltics and Europe, funding for the Baltic Security Initiative, and contributions through NATO missions such as Baltic Sentry and Eastern Sentry."
B. Braže underlined Latvia’s role in collective defence, including allocation of 5% of GDP to defence funding, investment in strengthening NATO and EU external border, provision of host-nation support to allies, achievement of energy independence from Russia, and development of Selonia, the largest military training ground in the Baltic states.
B. Braže expressed gratitude to the United States of America for its efforts to secure peace in Ukraine and stressed that Latvia fully backs U.S. President Donald Trump’s “peace through strength” strategy. The Minister underlined that Russia has not altered its strategic goals in the war and is exploiting peace talks to gain time.
On 20 February, Ambassador M. Argyros presented her letter of credence to the President of Latvia, Edgars Rinkēvičs. The previous U.S. Ambassador Christopher Robinson ended his term in December 2025.