Internal political discussions must not hurt country's external interests - foreign minister

RIGA - Internal political discussions must not hurt the country's external interests, Foreign Minister Baiba Braze (New Unity) said in an interview on TV3 television, reflecting on what to expect in this election year.

"We have to show internationally that we are strong. We must not be perceived as weak or divided. The first to take advantage of this is Russia," she stressed, adding that this issue has also been discussed with the country's top foreign policy officials.

Braze assessed that foreign policy in Latvia is largely united. "Even with the opposition parties, we have a mutual understanding on the important issues," she said.

The minister stressed that Latvia's allies are strong. "There are people who say that the world is falling apart. The world is not falling apart. Maybe the illusions about the order of things as they have been since we regained our independence are breaking down," the minister said. She stressed that a strong classical defense capability is much more important, i.e. military power in the world has become more important as a direct result of Russia's actions.

"At the same time, we have to very consciously define in our heads that we will continue to be twitched among allies, we will continue to be twitched internally," the minister said, stressing that first of all, we have to keep a "cool head" and analyze any decision in terms of how it helps security, the economy and society.

Asked to comment on the actions of Saeima Speaker Daiga Mierina (Greens/Farmers), who alone decided to sign a complimentary letter of support for US President Donald Trump's nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize, the minister said that on Friday the issue had been discussed with other senior officials involved in the country's foreign policy and the parties agreed that the letter would not directly harm the country's foreign security policy interests. She admitted, however, that "the publicity and everything did not go very well", stressing that the process could have been better.

As reported, Monday is the 105th anniversary of Latvia's international recognition. This week, heads of Latvian diplomatic missions will gather in Riga to mark the occasion, and visits by foreign ministers of several countries are expected.