Prime Minister Evika Silina ("New Unity") respects the personal decision of the Speaker of the Saeima, Daiga Mierina (Union of Greens and Farmers, ZZS), to sign a letter to the Nobel Committee calling for the 2025 peace prize to be awarded to US President Donald Trump, the Prime Minister confirmed to the LETA agency.
Mierina informed Silina of this decision yesterday. "I respect her personal decision," Silina said.
According to the magazine "Ir," Mierina signed a letter initiated by the heads of the parliaments of Israel and the USA to the Nobel Committee, calling for the peace prize to be awarded to Trump. Although Mierina initially claimed that the signature was merely a "trial" and that this issue still needed to be discussed with those responsible for Latvia's foreign policy, she later confirmed that the signed letter had already been sent to Israel.
The decision was not fully agreed upon with the Prime Minister, and Mierina acknowledged that the Minister of Foreign Affairs also viewed it critically, the publication notes. The letter praises Trump as a "champion of the world," listing some of the international successes of his administration.
The signing of the letter occurred at a time when Trump's statements about a possible annexation of Greenland heightened transatlantic tensions. Mierina defends Trump's actions, emphasizing his contribution to the security of Israel and Europe. Regarding Greenland, she believes it is about Arctic security, not territorial ambitions.
Later in an interview with Latvian television, Mierina stated that before signing the letter of support to the Nobel Committee, she had discussed the matter only with opposition MP Inara Murniece (National Alliance) and within the ZZS faction. Today, she also informed Silina and President Edgars Rinkēvičs about the signing, who assured her that they respect Mierina's opinion.
Mierina believes that her signature on the letter of support is justified, as "the USA is a strategic partner of Latvia." The state's foreign policy on this issue is unified, so she felt it necessary to respond to the request of the Speaker of the US House of Representatives and signed the letter to the Nobel Committee. Mierina did not mention coordinating opinions with strategic partners in Europe. She knows that such a letter is also being sent to the heads of the parliaments of Estonia and Ukraine, but she does not know if it will be signed.
