Karis: The Baltic Sea has kept Estonians and Latvians together for centuries

TALLINN - President Alar Karis met with Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs on the island of Ruhnu on Wednesday, as the Latvian leader began his state visit to Estonia.

"Due to folk tales and a shared history, Ruhnu is a very suitable place to start the Latvian president's state visit to Estonia. For centuries, the Baltic Sea has brought Estonians and Latvians together, fostering trust and cooperation, which are the foundations of the present-day relations between Estonia and Latvia," said Karis.

During the meeting, the heads of state discussed strengthening Estonian-Latvian cooperation, European security, preparations for the NATO summit, steadfast support for Ukraine, and the development of regional connections.

"Our cooperation is so close that we often take it for granted. In reality, it is built on years of trust, shared choices, and the knowledge that the best results are achieved when we act together. At the same time, our cooperation must also keep up with the times," Karis said.

According to him, the changed security situation, new technologies, and economic development create new opportunities every day that Estonia and Latvia can best utilize together.

The meeting focused on European security and the upcoming NATO summit in Ankara. "Europe must be ready to take greater responsibility for our common defense and strengthen its defense capabilities, while maintaining a strong transatlantic bond," said President Karis.

"It is important that Europe demonstrates through actions its readiness to take greater responsibility for our common defense and to strengthen its defense capabilities. A prerequisite for this is achieving the five percent level in defense spending agreed upon at the previous summit," the president said.

They also discussed Estonian-Latvian cooperation in strengthening the eastern border, developing anti-drone defenses, and building the Baltic defense line. President Karis noted that Estonia recently sent another border guard team to Latvia to help repel migration attacks.

"Such joint steps strengthen the entire eastern flank of NATO and European security," the Estonian head of state said. He also emphasized that the European Union's next long-term budget must take the needs of the eastern border and eastern flank into account more than before.

The heads of state also spoke about Ukraine. President Karis emphasized that Russia has not abandoned its goals, and therefore, both pressure on Russia and steadfast support for Ukraine must continue.

"Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine has fundamentally changed European security. We see no signs that Russia has abandoned its goals. Therefore, it is necessary to continue both pressuring Russia to end the war and providing firm support to Ukraine, including support for Ukraine's movement towards European Union and NATO membership. Ukraine's membership in the European Union and NATO is an investment in the security of all of Europe. Therefore, we will continue to support Ukraine politically, militarily, economically, and diplomatically," said President Karis.

In addition to security, the focus was also on how to further improve connections between Estonia and Latvia. The Rail Baltica project, better transport links, new energy connections, and digital cooperation were discussed.

In Ruhnu, the presidents learned about the island's community life and history. They met with municipal leaders, visited Ruhnu school, the rescue team, the historic churches, and the Ruhnu lighthouse. They will also participate in a folk festival in the yard of Korsi farm and plant an oak tree as a sign of Estonian-Latvian friendship.

On Thursday, Karis and Rinkēvičs will open a defense industry-focused Estonian-Latvian business forum in Tallinn, attended by numerous companies from Latvia and Estonia. This demonstrates the strong interest of entrepreneurs in new cooperation opportunities between Estonia and Latvia.