The President of Latvia, Edgars Rinkēvičs, stated in an interview with TVP World that the emergence of spheres of influence and great power politics are dangerous for Latvia.
Rinkēvičs spoke with TVP World on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference. According to him, if last year was a "shock moment" for European officials, then a year later, "everyone tried to understand where everything is heading."
"American officials presented their vision of transatlantic relations. We can agree with some elements, discuss others, and some will probably remain a subject of disagreement," Rinkēvičs said.
The world order is gone
The President of Latvia stated that the post-Cold War era and the rules-based world order established after World War II are gone.
"We have seen a clear inability of the international system to effectively deal with this," he told TVP World. "So yes, I agree that a new order is being formed. Yes, I agree that there is a kind of desire to divide the world into spheres of influence."
He emphasized that history has shown this is dangerous for the Baltic states, Poland, and other countries in the region. "This is dangerous for our existence, and we must take it very, very seriously," Rinkēvičs reiterated.
The President of Latvia characterized the current time as an era of "great power politics" and added that it concerns China and the United States, to some extent Russia, as well as the European Union—if the bloc acts together.
"And even great powers will need order, some rules that we all follow. And I think this is being formed. This is a dangerous situation," Rinkēvičs said.
Plan B for NATO?
The President was also asked whether Latvia is developing alternative plans in case NATO cannot fulfill its functions, as Poland and Lithuania are considering.
The head of state replied that Latvia has several levels of defense: "national defense, regional defense, European defense, and transatlantic defense." "But all of this is under the umbrella of NATO and the USA," he added.
Rinkēvičs, despite everything, believes in transatlantic relations, as there is "a lot of rhetoric, but at the same time, there is also a lot of practical cooperation with the United States and Canada."
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