Latvia has expressed readiness to host NATO nuclear weapons on its territory if the alliance makes a collective decision to that effect and the need arises. President Edgars Rinkēvičs made the statement, according to infohub.kz.
"If the need arises and a corresponding collective NATO decision is made, nuclear weapons will be deployed in Latvia," local outlet Leta quoted him as saying.
Rinkēvičs stressed that Latvia's constitution contains no ban on hosting nuclear weapons. "Our laws contain no legal obstacles to the deployment of nuclear weapons in Latvia," he said.
The president recalled that in 2003, as Latvia prepared to join NATO, every member state of the alliance confirmed there were no restrictions on implementing NATO's full collective security mechanism, including participation in the nuclear deterrence system.
At the same time, Rinkēvičs noted that no specific discussions about deploying nuclear weapons in Latvia are currently under way.
Also today, it was reported that Russia's embassy in Ireland revealed under what circumstances Moscow would be prepared to use nuclear weapons against NATO countries. The diplomatic mission cited information that the alliance is allegedly preparing an air and sea blockade of Kaliningrad and the Kaliningrad region.
"There should be no illusions: Russia will be ready to use its entire arsenal, including nuclear weapons, to defend its territory if NATO countries try to isolate the Kaliningrad region from the rest of the country," the embassy said.
Later, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte confirmed that the alliance had received a warning from Russia about using nuclear weapons if an attempt were made to isolate Kaliningrad.
Recall that earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow does not intend to attack Europe. At the same time, he threatened European countries with a "short war" if they attack Russia. Before that, it became known that NATO had prepared a plan in case of war with Russia.