Ahead of the NATO summit, Latvia’s President Edgars Rinkevics told DW that while he welcomed NATO countries’ commitments to spend 5% of GDP on defense, they must also focus on getting hold of the defense equipment they need. This, he says, should be a focus of the upcoming meeting in Ankara.
Speaking to DW’s Bernd Riegert, Rinkevics said US plans to withdraw some forces from Europe and demands that European allies do more for their own defense were a "complex issue." He said it would take time for Europe to build its own capabilities and that for now, the US is ‘indispensable’ in making NATO a successful alliance.
And on a potential Russian escalation of the war in Ukraine, Rinkevics warned: "We have to be prepared. We can’t rule out anything."
#NATO #EdgarsRinkevics #Latvia #dwgermanpolitics
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