Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs urged the US-led NATO alliance not to “overreact” to President Vladimir Putin’s remarks. advertisement to be deployed in Russia tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, which shares borders with Latvia – a NATO member – and Ukraine.
“Let’s face it, Russian nuclear weapons have been deployed in Kaliningrad, near our borders, even before. [Russia’s 2014 invasion of] Crimea started,” Rinkēvičs told CBS News. “I see it as a kind of bargaining chip. Something that blackmails our societies.”
He said he would “not dramatize” this move, but called for more sanctions against Belarus and Russia. Rinkēvičs said that he does not consider Belarus a sovereign state, but a “part of a Russian military district.”
Putin said over the weekend that Russia would deploy nuclear weapons to Belarus on fighter jets and Iskander hypersonic missiles, which have a range of about 300 miles.
Dominika Zarzycka/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Rinkēvičs also expressed hope for an expanded NATO, when the alliance meets in July. He said he would like to see 32 members at the summit in Lithuania, referring to Finland and Sweden’s stalled bids to be approved as NATO’s newest members.
Finland is one step closer to NATO membership after the Hungarian parliament approved the country’s bid on Monday. The other member that continues to support the bid, Turkey, is expected to sign Finland soon, after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country would start the process.
Sweden remains blocked because Turkey refuses to back its bid until disputes between the two countries are resolved. Turkey has accused Sweden of harboring members of a Kurdish militant group that Ankara considers terrorists.
Rinkēvičs said that he hoped that the “allies will solve the outstanding issues so that Sweden can also participate.”
He also said that the support for Ukraine, as it continues to keep the Russian invasion at bay, only grew stronger in his country, and he argued that now is not the time for a peace deal. Peace negotiations will only allow Russia to “regroup, to become stronger, and continue” its attack, Rinkēvičs said.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned earlier this week that calls for a ceasefire in Ukraine could be part of a “cynical trap” backed by Russia’s allies.
As for the Russian conscripts who are trying to avoid being sent to the front line by seeking refuge in Latvia, Rinkēvičs said that Latvia’s door is closed. Latvia and other Baltic states have instituted a policy that prohibits fugitive conscripts from entering the countries because they pose a security risk.
“They are not anti-war people. They are not anti-Putin people. They are not ready to stop the war,” he said, “and in that case, we are not ready to accept them.”
But there are ongoing channels for civilians to enter Latvia from Russia, Rinkēvičs said.
In December, Latvia canceled the license of exiled Russian television station TV Rain, after deeming the outlet a threat to the country’s security. TV Rain has come under fire after its reporters referred to Russian conscripts as “our military,” and the network showed a map depicting Ukraine’s occupied Crimean Peninsula as part of Russia.
Rinkēvičs called the Russian journalists’ statements “absolutely unacceptable,” but had no further comment on the pending litigation with TV Rain.
