Former Latvian president urges NATO to boost power to deter war with Russia
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- The Baltic states, Poland, and Finland all have a Russia-adjacent border and are NATO members. The likelihood of Russia attacking a NATO member state hinges on the power balance between Russia and NATO. Thus, as Leviticus stressed, to prevent another war, NATO must be sufficiently strong to deter potential aggressors.
The former president of Latvia elucidated that "being strong enough" is synonymous with possessing such might that an attack on a NATO member state would culminate in Russia's defeat. Levits, who served as the president of Latvia from 2019 until 2023, emphasised - Russia should bear this fact in mind.
- To achieve this, we need to make a committed investment in our defensive capabilities and the political will to utilise such military defence should an attack occur - the former president added during a dialogue with PAP.
"This would constitute an attack on all NATO members simultaneously"
Levits evaluated that "these two crucial factors are necessary for maintaining peace along the NATO border with Russia".
The former president of Latvia conceded that Latvia's and Poland's perspectives on the security situation are strikingly similar.
- We are exerting all possible effort to augment our military capabilities. Our nation, state, and officials are prepared to defend the country should an attack occur - he stated.
- An assault by Russia on a NATO member state would not merely be an issue for that one country, it would be regarded as an attack on all Alliance members, hence, on NATO itself, subsequently initiating a collective defence - stressed the former president.
The Baltic Line of Defence
At the start of this year, the Defence Ministers of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia inked an agreement to establish a "Baltic line of defence" on the eastern frontiers of their states. The intention of the project is to deter and protect against military threats if needed. According to Andris Spruds, Latvia's Defence Minister, constructing the "Baltic line of defence" in Latvia could be a ten-year endeavour. He conceded that the project costs will be "substantial".
Latvia's President, Edgars Rinkeviczs, asserted that decisions relative to the construction of collective defence infrastructure must receive consensus from military specialists from the Baltic states, Poland, and Finland, given Latvia's membership in the NATO joint defence planning system.
