On 7 March 2022, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, Edgars Rinkēvičs, welcomed the United States Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, to Riga. The officials discussed the security situation in the region, Russia’s war against Ukraine, as well as matters concerning the diversification of energy supplies in the Baltic States’ region.
Edgars Rinkēvičs thanked the United States for additional forces positioned in the territory of Latvia and pledged the commitment of Latvia as the host country to ensuring all the necessary support. The Minister also called for extending the presence of the US forces and capabilities in the Baltic States through the provision of air defence and anti-missile systems. We highly value the US leadership and steadfast support for the defence and reinforcement of NATO’s eastern flank, the Foreign Minister underlined. He added that it was in the security interests of Latvia and the Baltic States to have a permanent military presence of the US.
During the meeting, Edgars Rinkēvičs expressed conviction that Russia’s war against Ukraine would have broad long-term consequences for the security and defence of Europe as a whole.
The Latvian Foreign Minister stated that a strong and coordinated international diplomatic, political and economic pressure on Russia must be continued.
Edgars Rinkēvičs noted he was happy about the European Union and the US effectively and expeditiously coordinating their shared efforts on sanctions that are supposed to restrict Russia’s financial capacity to continue with aggression. The Minister also expressed support for measures to curb Russia’s disinformation campaign on war in Ukraine. It is vital to achieve that people in Russia have access to alternative information free of censorship through social networks, for instance, YouTube, Facebook, and other digital platforms.
Referring to energy independence, Edgars Rinkēvičs underlined the work going on towards diversification of energy supplies. Latvia has been working to increase the deliveries of natural gas from the Klaipeda Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Terminal so as to be able to go completely without Russian gas supplies. The Minister informed the US Secretary of State that efforts were under way to set up strategic gas reserves; nevertheless, it was essential to facilitate cooperation with LNG suppliers, including the United States.