On 8 March 2024, in Vilnius, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Krišjānis Kariņš, met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of France, Stéphane Séjourné, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia, Margus Tsahkna, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, Gabrielius Landsbergis, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, for a discussion on further assistance to Ukraine. After the event, Kiršjānis Kariņš underscored that the West, by joining forces, must help Ukraine win against Russia in the war.
“Today's meeting is yet another proof that Europe and NATO are united. It is within our common powers to give Ukraine all the support it needs to win the war against Russia,” Krišjānis Kariņš underlined.
He pointed out that today’s meeting had featured discussions on how to expand and accelerate the necessary support for Ukraine by providing training to its soldiers and border guards and supplying ammunition and weapons.
The meeting was a follow-up to the conference of European leaders hosted by the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, at which a number of initiatives were presented on ways to reinforce the Allied support for the armed forces of Ukraine as well as to ensure sustainability of the assistance provided.
Krišjānis Kariņš underlined at the talks that the priority of the present moment was to provide immediate military support to the Ukrainian armed forces based on their identified needs – anti-aircraft protection, artillery shells, long-range weapons and drones.
In order to strengthen the positions of the Ukrainian forces in the battlefield, Latvia has joined the Czech-led initiative on the procurement of artillery ammunition for Ukraine. The initiative aims to finance a rapid purchase of hundreds of thousands of shells from third countries. Latvia also supports the EU initiative on sending a million shells to Ukraine, stressing that the purchase of ammunition from third countries should be provided for immediately.
Krišjānis Kariņš informed the partners about the development of the Latvian-led drone coalition, which aims to supply Ukraine with a million drones by 24 February 2025. Besides Latvia, the letter of intent on participation in the drone coalition was signed by Ukraine, the United Kingdom, Canada, the Netherlands, Lithuania, Estonia, Sweden, Denmark and Germany. In the course of this year, Latvia will contribute at least EUR 10 million to the development of the coalition, including to advance the local military industry.
