This article was originally published in English
Security and self-defense are at the top of Latvia’s national priorities.
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Nearly 1,000 days after Russia’s total invasion of Ukraine, Latvia is on edge. The Baltic state and its almost two million inhabitants share a 300-kilometer border with Russia.
This means that security and self-defense have become the number one issue for the country and the main topic of discussion at this year’s Riga conference.
Jānis Karlsbergs, president of the Latvian Transatlantic Organization, a defense NGO, said on the sidelines of the annual foreign policy and security forum that Russia was trying to “to divide us (as) a society, to divide us between politicians”.
“I think this is the greatest danger for all of us”he added.
For now, in his eyes, however, Russia would be “extremely weak”.
“If we understand how big and strong we are, they don’t stand a chance”insite Jānis Karlsbergs.
The government has reintroduces military service last year. A lottery now determines which Latvian men aged 18 to 27 must sign up for a period of 11 months. The goal is to have 4,000 trained soldiers by 2028 to be able to repel a possible Russian invasion.
According to Mr Karlsbergs, this will only strengthen the country’s defenses. “It’s a great way to integrate natural security issues into society”. “There is no boundary between society and the army, we are one and the same family.”
To learn more, watch the video in the player above.
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