RIGA - Serious dilemmas will have to be solved after US President Donald Trump takes office, President Edgars Rinkevics admitted in an interview on Latvian Television this morning.
The President said that cooperation with the United States had been very good and stable so far, regardless of which party was represented in the White House. He is confident that this cooperation will continue.
At the same time, there will be many things that will need to be worked on very seriously, Rinkevics said. Every time a new US President takes office, there is a need for constant diplomatic efforts to remind what is important for us, Rinkevics stressed.
Secondly, there will be quite serious dilemmas to will need to be addressed, the President said. For example, the US is expected to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement. Without the US, many of the objectives of the existing agreement will not be achieved, Rinkevics said.
Potential tariffs on the European Union (EU) economy are also foreseeable, which will affect us, Rinkevics stressed.
At the same time, defense spending will be an issue. In his opinion, Latvia should think about allocating 4 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) to defense. "I can certainly see that our current needs, at least as I have been informed, are above 4 percent of GDP," he said, admitting that Latvia could be closer to 5 percent. The government is working on this. It is also due to be discussed at the National Security Council in February.
Rinkevics is a bit scared that not all European allies see it this way. "This will be another situation," the President commented.
He summarized that it was going to be a rather uncertain, turbulent year. Latvia's diplomacy and policy makers in both the Baltics and Europe will have to work hard to establish reasonable relations. "But many things are bound to change," he stressed.
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