Baltic and Polish Ministerial Meeting/Latvian MFA
Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Poland called for increased defense of NATO's eastern flank during the Madrid summit at the end of June.
The foreign ministers of the four countries agreed on this at a meeting in Riga.
Officials discussed key transatlantic security issues for a summit at the end of June 2022. Ministers stressed the need to strengthen and expand the presence of NATO forces on the eastern flank of the Alliance.
We want to achieve a permanent presence of NATO troops in the Baltic countries and Poland, so that this will enable us to counter any threat from Russia and Belarus and protect every inch of our territory. – said Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics.
The ministers also agreed on further cooperation in the energy sector in order to ensure independence from Russian resources as soon as possible.
The Foreign Ministers agreed to continue deliveries of military equipment and weapons to Ukraine and strengthen the sanctions regime against Russia.
By the way, Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said that Ukraine has long persuaded partners to provide Western-made weapons that meet NATO standards. And finally, the transition to Western calibers and equipment has been adopted.
In particular, Ukraine is already receiving 155 mm artillery. Gradually, this will ensure the full interaction of the Ukrainian army with the armies of NATO countries, which will significantly strengthen the eastern flank of the Alliance.
