On 26 and 27 October, the Minister of the Interior Rihards Kozlovskis, the State Secretary of the Ministry of the Interior Dimitrijs Trofimovs, and the Chief of the State Border Guard General Guntis Pujats meet in Vilnius, Lithuania with the ministers of the interior and the chiefs of the border guard services of all three Baltic states, Norway, Poland, Finland, and Ukraine to discuss the security situation and challenges in the region along with the possible shared actions.
During the meeting, a joint statement of the countries was adopted on support for the Ukrainian people in the fight against Russian aggression, as well as the readiness to respond to the challenges in the region together and in solidarity was confirmed.
Within the visit, R. Kozlovskis also had a meeting with the Minister of Interior of Ukraine Ihor Klimenko. The two ministers discussed the current situation in Ukraine and assistance to Ukraine and its civilians. In a bilateral conversation, the ministers discussed the experience of the internal affairs services of Ukraine in the circumstances of war, emphasizing the importance of exchanging experience with the internal affairs services of Latvia. In order to carry on providing Ukraine with the necessary support, the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Latvia, the Latvian State Police (the SP), the State Border Guard of the Republic of Latvia, and the State Fire and Rescue Service of the Republic of Latvia (the SFRS) keep abreast of developments in Ukraine and maintain constant contacts with Ukrainian government institutions.
R. Kozlovskis, at the meeting with I. Klimenko, confirmed that Latvian offices of the internal affairs industry will hand over 12 unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) to the Ukrainian State Police without compensation. The delivery of the shipment of drones handed over by the SP and the SFRS to Ukraine will be organized by the SFRS.
R. Kozlovskis, the Minister of Internal Affairs: “I reaffirmed to the Ukrainian Minister the firm and constant support of the Latvian government and internal affairs offices in the war against the aggressor for as long as it will be necessary. Latvia and Europe as a whole is genuinely interested in Ukraine's victory in the fight against Russian aggression.”
In general, the two-day visit pays special attention to issues such as hybrid threats, border security, migration, protection of critical infrastructure, as well as assistance and support to Ukraine and the Ukrainian civilians.
At the beginning of the visit, R. Kozlovskis and the Minister of the Interior of the Republic of Lithuania Agnis Bilotaitis signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation between Latvia and Lithuania in the fight against illegal migration. The Memorandum provides for strengthening the cooperation between the police and border services of the two countries by establishing common communication channels for coordination of their actions.
