Latvian Defense Minister does not rule out escalation of provocations and sabotage by Russia

There is currently no direct military threat to Latvia or NATO, but an escalation of provocations, sabotage and incidents cannot be ruled out. This was stated by Latvian Defense Minister Andris Spruds in an interview with the LETA news agency, reports Delfi.

According to him, it is now necessary to take into account that Russia is generally ready for escalation and has demonstrated its brutality in Ukraine.

"We must not relax for a minute, because provocations of hybrid warfare and more are possible in our region," the minister emphasized.

He added that there is currently no direct military threat to Latvia or NATO, but provocations, sabotage and escalation of incidents cannot be ruled out.

"We must take this into account and be ready today, not tomorrow. Our readiness must be demonstrated now, including through the Namaste exercise, which further strengthens our readiness. This proves that the best deterrence is a stronger defense," Sprouts emphasized.

He explained that demonstrating defense capabilities also deter potential escalation. In his opinion, in the case of Russia, weakness is what encourages, so NATO's mission is also important, showing that any actions by Moscow will provoke a response.

Spruds said that whatever Russia's actions, whatever their motives, are essentially an escalation and a demonstration of aggressiveness that must be responded to. This will show that for Russia, such actions are counterproductive, as they provoke a response and lead to the opposite result than expected.

Latvia's Defense Minister said that Russia wanted to reduce NATO's role and create disunity within the Alliance, but in his opinion, it ultimately achieved the opposite result.

• On September 19, Russian MiG-31 fighters violated Estonian airspace near Tallinn. In total, they were over Estonia for about 12 minutes. The Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Russian Charge d'Affaires to protest.
• On the same day, two Russian fighter jets violated the security zone of the Polish Petrobaltic drilling platform in the Baltic Sea. More than a week earlier, two dozen Russian UAVs violated Polish airspace.