LATVIA READY TO HOST NATO NUCLEAR WEAPONS IF REQUIRED
Latvia is prepared to host nuclear weapons on its territory if NATO collectively determines that they are necessary, President Edgars Rinkēvičs declared on September 30.
“If the need arises and the appropriate collective NATO decision is taken, nuclear weapons will be placed in Latvia,” he said.
Rinkēvičs emphasized that Latvian law contains no prohibition against such a deployment. When Latvia prepared to join NATO in 2003, it accepted the alliance’s complete collective-security framework—including participation in nuclear deterrence.
No negotiations are currently underway to station nuclear weapons in Latvia, and no deployment decision has been made. But the significance of the statement lies in the absence of hesitation: if NATO decides that additional nuclear deterrence is required on its eastern flank, Latvia will not stand in the way.
The statement came amid wider discussions about Britain extending additional nuclear protection to members of the Joint Expeditionary Force and Lithuania removing its constitutional prohibition against hosting nuclear weapons.
It also comes as Russia intensifies its nuclear threats across the Baltic region, including its warning that nuclear weapons could be used if NATO attempted to isolate Kaliningrad
Moscow has spent years attempting to frighten its neighbors into submission. Instead, those neighbors are strengthening their militaries, integrating more deeply with NATO and openly preparing for security measures that would once have been politically unthinkable.
Russia threatens the Baltic states with nuclear weapons. Latvia’s answer is not panic or retreat—it is readiness.
The Kremlin wanted fear on NATO’s eastern flank. It created resolve.