Bloomberg Audio Studios.
Pok it's a great pleasure to be joined by the President of Latvia. President Edgars Rinkovich is with us live from the United Nations in New York on this important day, and mister President, we welcome you to Bloomberg TV and Radio.
The President, in a news conference just a moment ago, as you were sitting down to talk with us on Bloomberg, said that NATO countries should shoot down aircraft entering their airspace, of course, referring to the Russian incursions on Polish airspace as well as Estonian airspace.
Is your country prepared if that happens.
Well. Actually, Latria as well as other Baltic states are under the NATO Air Patrolling mission, so that kind of decision should be taken by NATO command. But I think that President Trump and other leaders who have expressed their views on this issue, all right, if Russian aircraft keep flying, keep violating purer air space, NATO's airspace, then the only
way how to stop them is to show force. And from that perspective, I would say that we are going to push for most regent NATO policy in this regard.
Interesting, I'd love if you have more details on those changes and the potential for increasing air defenses along the Russian border. Is there a way to deter Russia from flying these missions?
Yes, yes there is. Actually we have two issues here. Number one, it's drones that have been flying into the Polish, Romanian also Latvian territory. Mostly we have seen those kinds of incursions as tests, and here more anti drone defense is needed. Actually that's a bit also the kind of race when it comes to technologies. Number two, it's what
happened with Estonia megs flying into the Estonian territory. And here, as I said, to some extent, the Baltic States are in a very peculiar position because we do not have our fighters. Since we joined NATO back in two thousand and four, there is so called Baltic a policing mission. What has been decided that that policing mission will become
a full fledged a defense mission. And then I think that rules of engagement need also to be upgraded in a way that if Russians continue, then yes, indeed the opening of fire would be an alternative. Can we stop Russians? Yes, we have seen what happened with the Baltic see a couple of months ago, we had many incidents with underwater infrastructure. When so called Botics entry mission started, more ships, NATO ships patrolling the Baltic Sea. All of suddenly the pattern changed.
The problem with Russians is that they're going to stop incursions in the balticre in the NATO airspace if they see show, of course, But at the same time they are going to find other ways how actually to test time to challenge the Alliance.
So were you, essentially President Rinkovic describing a no fly zone for Eastern Europe, for border nations that NATO would work together on.
Is that how you defend the skies?
Not exactly no fly zone. No fly zone would mean that actually we stopped flying all aircraft civilian friendly NATO aircraft. Understand, I'm advocating for much stringent defense policy of the Alliance, as we just discussed.
I want to ask you about the idea of a drone wall. Baltic countries are apparently having this conversation, a system that would take down any drones that cross the border. Are you involved in those discussions? Could that be made reality?
Yes, indeed we are talking about that. Indeed, we are learning a lot from Ukrainian experience. But of course we also said that development of technology at this time is so quick that actually it's quite challenging to find the right approach. But indeed, the Baltic nations or Eastern Flank nations are discussing also the drone wall, as well as actually counter mobility measures against any possible Russian incursion if that may happen.
I'm sure you heard the President's speech earlier, President Trump's speech before the United Nations. Mister President, he spoke about the potential for secondary sanctions against Russia, but said he would only put them in place if European nations stopped buying Russian oil.
Your reaction to that.
I'm absolutely supporting that proposal by President Trump. Actually, latterly, along other countries that are bordering Russia, have been advocating for stopping buying Russian oil and gas since twenty twenty two. We actually made that decision when Russians started their full scale aggression back in February twenty twenty two. So from that point of view, I do believe that President Trump is right. I do believe that all European nations must stop buying Russian oil and gas. And they must stop
financing Russian war machines. So from that point of view, there is a point in what President Trump said in his address to the United Nations General Assembly.
Well, what are you hearing, President, from your NATO allies who are in fact purchasing Russian oil?
Will they make that commitment?
I think that if there is a clear position from the United States, if other EU nations or NATO European allies do stop buying Russian oil and gas, and there is now alternative it's U SL and G. By the way, Latvia is buying currently around seventy five percent of the United States liquefied natural gas, then I think that those countries may change their mind. And I think that the position of the United States in this matter is very relevant.
So I do hope that all capitals in Europe are hearing the statement from the United States at this point.
Well, there's.
A story coming out of the Pentagon here in Washington, the Department of Defense pulling back on funding for programs on NATO's Eastern flank, including the Baltic Security Initiative, which would impact your country. Are you hearing directly from the Pentagon on this and can countries like yours make up the difference.
Well, we are in discussions with our colleagues in the United States Department of War, and at this point I would say that we are very grateful to the United States for all the assistants the country has provided to Latvia since establishment of our independence. But we are also working with the Congress, and I do hope that we are going to find the solution where we are going
to continue this cooperation. Let me say that actually when it comes to the US aid in this regard, then we are mostly buying the US equipment and also we are then financing that purchase also not only from US funds, but also Latin or the Maltic funds. So this is where we are in the process. So I can't confirm that the kind of final decision has been made, and I do understand the push from the United States when
it comes to more financing. But let me remind the viewers of Bloomberg also that countries like Latvia currently spent almost five percent on defense of GDP because we understand what capabilities we need. And I do hope that also this message is going to be heard in US government as.
Well, spoken like the president of a frontline nation sharing a border with Russia. Certainly, I'm curious, mister President, what your thought was on the message today from President Trump. He spoke to the room, he said your countries are going to hell? Was that the message that you needed to hear today?
I think that the United Nations is a great place where different opinions, different views are being expressed. And I think that sometimes, frankly, I'm attending those UNGA meetings in different capacity it is as the foreign minister before I became president since two thousand and nine, and sometimes you will probably need to get kind of very strong language
to wake up. But definitely I hope that we are going to find a common language with everyone in the room when it comes to the critical issues of the global development, be it climate change or beat other issues. However, I think also that one thing that is currently an issue here with the United States is that this organization
needs reform. Beat You and Security Council. We see that when it comes to the war in Ukraine or it used to be Syria a couple of years ago, this organization was not capable to deal with challenges that actually it was created for.
That's a very diplomatic answer, mister President. President Trump referred to many countries of banfor instruction. Well true, true, due to their use of green energy. Does he have the wrong or the right idea there?
I think that this discussion about climate change and what should we do is now developing, and you know, from time to time we get into extremes. Sometimes we get into extreme that we are all going to die immediately, and then we do some policies that handsight seem to be not so clever, and then we probably change the tone. In my own country, we have now that debate as well, what should we do and are we exaggerating? So from that point of view, I think that the climate change
is real. The issue is how you deal with that, whether those policies we are agreeing are the right ones, whether windmills are the right answer. Back home, we have the same debate. I would actually be happy to continue that discussion, and probably in this kind of clash of opinions we can probably find the right policy as well.
Yeah.
Interesting, Before you leave us, mister president and get back to your meetings at the UN, I want to get back to where we started, and that is the looming threat from Russia. And specifically from Vladimir Putin. What is the message from your country, from you to Vladimir Putin as he considers pushing the line, as we've been referring to it in countries like Latvia, if he decides to fly into your airspace, if he sends drones or aircraft, what would be your warning ahead of that decision?
My morning, would we learned from history because pushing the envelope, crossing the line at one point means that you are losing everything. And I think that the message that we are hearing from NATO allies, from President Trump, from President Dagan, from other leaders of the alliance are very very clear messages. So don't even try.
President Edgars Rinkovic, the President of Latvia, with us live from the United Nations the General Assembled underway now in New York.
Mister President, thank
You for the insights and for spending time with us today on Bloomberg