"In foreign policy, it already looks like a catastrophe" – this is how former prime minister Maris Kucinskis, now representing the 'United List' in the Saeima, characterized in an interview with Diena the recent nomination by speaker Daiga Meirina (Union of Greens and Farmers) of Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize.
"Of course, the Minister of Foreign Affairs knew about this," the politician claims. "There were also consultations with her leadership; the Security Police does not hide this at all. There was also a call from the sanctioned defender of Trump, Aivars Lembergs..."
"But they will remain and continue to work, because there are ministers who would gladly stay in their positions, even with an unclear future. They all, not just the Security Police, have something to lose, so this coalition will hold on until the last moment."
"It would be necessary to urgently involve the president and the prime minister; some decisions must be made," recommends the former head of government. "I find it hard to imagine any opposite decision, that we would suddenly distance ourselves from the USA; we cannot afford that, it would not be right, because we need to protect NATO, not forgetting that we also need to protect the European Union..."
"During the time when I was the head of government and Raimonds Vejonis was the president, we all, in a sense, relied heavily on Rinkevics," recalls M. Kucinskis.
"I am a bit shy to say that it was better back then, but it was indeed completely clear in what formats the prime minister operated and in what formats the president did, but it was also completely clear who was the main source of information for both at that time – it was the Minister of Foreign Affairs." Today, the politician hints at D. Meirina – "one such village girl came and did something."
"We had goals – NATO and the EU, and of course, they need to be defended as a whole, as a force we can rely on," Mr. Kucinskis continues, "but if this foreign policy begins to be used in domestic political intrigues, I think it is a crime against the state. Therefore, I say that the most terrible thing about this scandal is not so much its outcome as the fact that... everything falls under very careful analysis by foreign embassies and ambassadors. The overall impression of all this – in terms of Latvia's foreign policy – is disorder or chaos. If today one were to ask with whom to discuss a unified foreign policy in Latvia, it would be difficult to answer – all this generates a huge misunderstanding."
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