Option on possible closure of Baltic Sea must be "kept on the table" - president

RIGA - When thinking about the security of the Baltic Sea region, the issue of a possible closure of the Baltic Sea should be "kept on the table", Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics said in an interview with TV3 on Friday.

Asked how to improve the security of critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea, Rinkevics said that it was necessary to increase patrols at sea and to step up sanctions against the Russian shadow fleet. For example, there is talk within NATO of stepping up joint patrols.

At the same time, in the President's view, the issue of a possible closure of the Baltic Sea should be "kept on the table", which would be a very serious step that has been raised in the past at the level of ideas and against which various objections were raised at the time.

The President added that there are around 2,000 different vessels in the Baltic Sea on a daily basis, not all of which could be controlled.

Asked to assess what Latvia's overall security priorities should be this year, the President stressed the need to complete the construction of the Eastern border and to continue building up military infrastructure. It is also expected that an even larger share of the national budget will have to be allocated to defense, with investments reaching 4 percent of gross domestic product.

The strengthening of the country's internal security will also have to be continued, where this year's changes and improvements will not be enough, Rinkevics added.

Rinkevics assessed as justified the urgings of the incoming US President Donald Trump to NATO colleagues to invest more in defense.

The Baltic States are working to meet Trump as soon as possible in one format or another, he added.