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☆ As Trump blasts NATO allies for not paying for defense, these front-line countries are readying for war
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-26 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

But as Russia's bloody war in Ukraine enters its third year, and the threat to NATO countries, particularly those on Russia's borders, grows, the Baltic states are investing in their defense more than ever. Shawn CooverThe talk came just on the heels of Trump's most recent attack on NATO members who he deems aren't paying their 'fair share." Last week, the former president said that he would keep the US in NATO should European countries pay and "play fair." He said the US "was paying 90% of NATO," and that without the US, NATO "literally doesn't even exist." "We've reinstated conscription, so we're building up our armed forces," an unpopular move that Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs is pushing other NATO members to do, too.

Persons: —, Donald Trump, Margus Tsahkna, Vladimir Putin, Tsahkna, Shawn Coover, Trump, ALAIN JOCARD, Olaf Scholz, Emmanuel Macron, isn't, Macron, Krišjānis Kariņš, Kariņš, Thomas Wiegold, We've, Edgars Rinkēvičs, Rinkēvičs Organizations: Service, NATO, Business, Hudson Institute, Washington DC, Estonian, US Marine Corps, Staff, Getty, Latvian, Financial Times Locations: Ukraine, Baltic, Washington, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Russia, Russian, China, Europe, NATO, Poland, estonian, Rakvere, AFP, Baltics, France, Germany, Russia's, Greece, Belarus, Finland, Romania, Hungary

☆ Trump Comments Show Europe Must Spend More on Defence, Latvia Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-17 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

Trump sparked fierce criticism from top Western officials for saying that, as U.S. president, he had told an unnamed leader he would not protect countries that failed to meet NATO defence spending targets, and would even encourage Russia to attack them. "Many presidents have been saying for many years that in Europe, we - being a generally wealthy society - should invest more in our own defence," Karins said as he walked between events at the annual Munich Security Conference on Friday. Karins said part of Europe's response should be to continue to spend more on defence - a trend fuelled by Russia's seizure of Crimea in 2014 and full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Karins said Europe would still need the structures and coordination provided by the U.S.-led North Atlantic Treaty Organization for its forces to operate effectively together, as Europe was not a country with a single army. "We will still need NATO to help coordinate us."

Persons: Andrew Gray MUNICH, Donald Trump's, Krisjanis Karins, Trump, Karins, Andrew Gray, Jan Harvey Organizations: NATO, Latvian, Baltic, Reuters, Security, Treaty Organization Locations: Russia, U.S, Europe, Crimea, Ukraine

☆ OSCE Meeting Causes Rift Over Whether to Share Stage With Russia's Lavrov
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +4 min

The United States and its allies are seeking to simultaneously keep the OSCE alive and hold Russia to account over its invasion of Ukraine. Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna told reporters at a meeting with his counterparts from other NATO member states. Estonia had been due to take over the annually rotating OSCE chairmanship but Russia spent months blocking it. A last-minute deal for neutral Malta to take over the chairmanship must also be formally approved at Thursday and Friday's OSCE meeting in Skopje, hosted by the current chair North Macedonia. I think that is simply wrong," Latvian Foreign Minister Krisjanis Karins told reporters at the NATO meeting.

Persons: Andrew Gray, Francois Murphy, Ingrid Melander, Russia's Sergei Lavrov, Margus Tsahkna, Lavrov, Tsahkna, OSCE Michael Carpenter, Antony Blinken, Vladimir Putin, Helga Schmid, Krisjanis Karins, Humeyra Pamuk, William Maclean Organizations: Organization, Security, Cooperation, OSCE, Central Asia, Ukrainian Foreign, AS, United, U.S, Macedonian, United Nations General Assembly, NATO Locations: Ingrid Melander BRUSSELS, VIENNA, Baltic, Ukraine, Russia, Balkans, Central, United States, Estonian, Estonia, Malta, Skopje, Macedonia, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Moscow, West, New York, Latvian

[1/3] Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov disembarks from a plane upon his arrival at an airport ahead of a meeting of foreign ministers of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Skopje, North Macedonia, November 30, 2023. Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna told reporters on Wednesday in Brussels where he attended a NATO meeting. The European Union's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said he understood unease about Lavrov attending the meeting in Skopje, North Macedonia. But he said it was a chance for Lavrov to hear broad condemnation of Russia's war in Ukraine. I think that is simply wrong," said Latvian Foreign Minister Krisjanis Karins.

Persons: Sergei Lavrov disembarks, Russia's Sergei Lavrov, Margus Tsahkna, Lavrov, Josep Borrell, Borrell, Dimitar Kovacevski, OSCE Michael Carpenter, Antony Blinken, Helga Schmid, Krisjanis Karins, Humeyra Pamuk, Aleksandar Vasovic, Ronald Popeski, Francois Murphy, William Maclean, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: Organisation for Security, Cooperation, Russian Foreign Ministry, REUTERS Acquire, Organization for Security, Baltic, OSCE, Soviet, NATO, Tass, Russian, North Macedonia's, Kremlin, AS, Ukraine, United, U.S, United Nations General Assembly, Thomson Locations: Europe, Skopje, North Macedonia, BRUSSELS, VIENNA, Ukraine, U.S, Russia, Estonian, Brussels, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Malta, Belarus, United States, Moscow, West, New York, Latvian

Latvia's Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins addresses the opening session on the first day of the Ukraine Recovery Conference in London, Britain June 21, 2023. Henry Nicholls/Pool via REUTERSRIGA, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins announced his resignation on Monday, blaming a breakdown in relations with parts of his multi-party governing government. Karins' New Unity party plans to select its candidate for prime minister on Wednesday, he said. President Edgars Rinkevics has responsibility for giving a mandate to a new prime minister to try to form a government. Latvia's next parliamentary election is scheduled for 2026.

Persons: Krisjanis Karins, Henry Nicholls, Karins, Aivars Lembergs, Edgars Rinkevics, Latvia's, Janis Laizans, Andrius, Terje Solsvik, John Stonestreet Organizations: Latvia's, Conference, REUTERS, Latvian, European Union, NATO, Unity, National Alliance, Progressives, Greens, Farmers Union, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, London, Britain, REUTERS RIGA, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Russia, Ventspils

☆ 'After the war, they will be a member': Russia’s neighbors back Ukraine's NATO bid at summit
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Karen Gilchrist | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The leaders of Europe's Baltic states on Tuesday reiterated their support for Ukraine's expedited NATO membership bid, insisting that Kyiv should join the military alliance as soon as its war with Russia is over. Speaking on the first day of NATO's two-day summit, Latvia's Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš said that all allies were aligned on the embattled state's ultimate membership. Ukraine's accession to the alliance is one of the major topics on the agenda as NATO members meet in Vilnius, Lithuania this week. "It looks like there is no readiness either to invite Ukraine to NATO or to make it a member of the Alliance," Zelenskyy said on Telegram Tuesday, ahead of an expected appearance at the summit. It comes a day after NATO dropped its Membership Action Plan (MAP) requirement for Ukraine — one of the major sticking points in accession negotiations.

Persons: Krišjānis Kariņš, Kariņš, CNBC's Steve Sedgwick, I'm, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Zelenskyy Organizations: Latvia's, NATO, Alliance Locations: Baltic, Russia, Ukraine, Vilnius, Lithuania

☆ Baltic Sea will essentially now become a NATO sea: Latvia PM
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailBaltic Sea will essentially now become a NATO sea: Latvia PMKrišjānis Kariņš, PM of Latvia, speaks to CNBC's Steve Sedgwick at the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania.

Persons: Krišjānis Kariņš, Steve Sedgwick Organizations: NATO Locations: Latvia, Vilnius, Lithuania

☆ 'We have to spend more': European leaders weigh in on defense spending across the continent
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via Email'We have to spend more': European leaders weigh in on defense spending across the continentAs heads of state arrive at the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, CNBC speaks to Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Prime Minister of Lithuania Krišjānis Kariņš, President of Poland Andrzej Duda, and Prime Minister of The Netherlands Mark Rutte about their respective policies on military expenditure in Europe.

Persons: Pedro Sanchez, Lithuania Krišjānis Kariņš, Andrzej Duda, Netherlands Mark Rutte Organizations: NATO, CNBC, Spanish Locations: Vilnius, Lithuania, Netherlands, Europe

☆ EU leaders to pledge de-risk from China and debate what this means
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Philip Blenkinsop | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRUSSELS, June 30 (Reuters) - European Union leaders are set on Friday to commit to reducing the bloc's dependence on China and debate how to strike the balance between "de-risking" and engaging in areas such as climate change. EU leaders will seek on Friday to present a united front, but there are clear differences between countries such as France and Germany, with sizeable business interests in China, and Lithuania, on which Chinese has imposed sanctions. The conclusions, which could still be changed, say the European Union will reduce critical dependencies and vulnerabilities, including in supply chains, and will de-risk and diversify where necessary. "The European Union does not intend to decouple or to turn inwards," the conclusions say. The 27-nation European Union has since 2019 considered China a partner, competitor and system rival.

Persons: Krisjanis Karins, Ursula von der Leyen, Philip Blenkinsop, Daniel Wallis Organizations: Union, European Union, EU, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, China, Latvian, Brussels, Russia, Ukraine, Taiwan Strait, France, Germany, Lithuania, European Union, Europe, EU

☆ $200 billion in frozen Russian assets could help rebuild Ukraine. Europe is trying to figure out how
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

London CNN —Russian assets frozen in European accounts could generate billions of dollars a year for rebuilding Ukraine. One idea put forward in the EU is to draw off the interest on income generated by Russian assets while leaving the assets themselves untouched. This approach would probably deliver about €3 billion ($3.3 billion) a year, according to Anders Ahnlid, the director general of the Swedish National Board of Trade and head of the EU working group looking into frozen Russian assets. The group said in April that cash on its balance sheet had more than doubled over the year to March to stand at €140 billion ($153 billion), boosted by payments associated with frozen Russian assets, including bonds. Euroclear routinely invests such long-term cash balances and, in the first quarter, it recorded €734 million ($802 million) in interest earned on cash balances from sanctioned Russian assets.

Persons: Anders Ahnlid, “, ” Ahnlid, ”, Euroclear, Arturs Krišjānis Kariņš, John Thys, I’m, ’, ” — James Frater Organizations: London CNN, Union, Bank, EU, Swedish National Board of Trade, CNN, European Commission, European Central Bank, ECB, Group, Latvia’s, Latvia's, European Locations: Ukraine, Brussels, Russia, EU, Belgium, AFP, Europe

☆ Allies Pressure Biden to Hasten NATO Membership for Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( David E. Sanger | Steven Erlanger | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Krisjanis Karins, the American-born prime minister of Latvia, argued that “the only chance for peace in Europe is when Ukraine will be in NATO.” Speaking Wednesday at a strategy conference in Riga, he said that any other outcome means inevitably “Russia will come back.”The hope in the push is that once Ukraine is a full member of the alliance, Russia would not dare to try to topple the government in Kyiv because an attack on one NATO country is considered an attack on them all. Ukrainian membership has become a “consuming debate,” both in Europe and inside the Biden administration, according to one senior U.S. official who is deeply involved in the discussions. Only Germany has sided fully with Mr. Biden, though some of the other 29 allies have their own quiet doubts about Ukraine’s readiness to fully join the alliance — and the risks that NATO nations could get sucked directly into a conflict with Russia in the future. In a blur of memos and meetings, several American officials, led by Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, appear to have taken the position that the Biden administration will be forced to be more specific about Ukraine’s path to membership, even if no date can be agreed upon in the middle of a war that has no clear end in sight.

Persons: Krisjanis Karins, ”, Biden, Antony J Organizations: NATO, U.S Locations: American, Latvia, Europe, Ukraine, Riga, Russia, Kyiv, Germany

☆ China's liaisons with Russia are fueling an awkward split among European leaders
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Silvia Amaro | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, March 21, 2023. Chinese President Xi Jinping traveled to Russia earlier this week, where both leaders shared mutual concerns, warm words and called one another "dear friend." Speaking alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Chinese leader Xi Jinping predicted voters would re-elect his Russian counterpart next year and described his leadership as "strong." "We have looked very carefully at [the] communication coming out of the Xi Jinping meeting with Vladimir Putin," Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte told CNBC. "We very much hope that the phone call will take place as soon as possible between Xi Jinping and Volodymyr Zelenskyy."

☆ Latvia says traders use Turkey, Kazakhstan, Armenia to dodge Russia sanctions
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Andrius Sytas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

VILNIUS, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Traders are using Turkey, Kazakhstan and Armenia to evade European Union sanctions on Russia in a tactic that breaches these countries' compliance with the bloc's embargo, Latvia's prime minister said on Friday. Krisjanis Karins made the assertion following talks with counterparts from fellow EU members Estonia and Lithuania, which along with Latvia have been among most vocal supporters of sanctions on Russia following its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. "It seems quite clear that traders are finding ways to legally trade goods, say with Turkey, Kazakhstan or Armenia which are then resent to Russia, because these countries are not adhering to the sanctions regime", Karins told reporters in the Estonian capital Tallinn. There was no immediate response from the foreign ministries of Turkey and Kazakhstan to requests for comment on the remarks by Karins. At the same time, it opposes Western sanctions on Russia and has close ties with both Moscow and Kyiv, its Black Sea neighbours.

☆ UK's Sunak to attend Baltic summit, meet UK troops in Estonia
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 19 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will meet his Nordic, Baltic and Dutch counterparts at the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) summit in the Latvian capital Riga on Monday, before heading to Estonia to meet British and NATO troops, the government said. The JEF, a British-led group of Denmark, Estonia, Finland and Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden, will be addressed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. At the summit, Sunak will call on leaders to sustain or increase lethal aid, economic resilience and political backing to Ukraine in its resistance against Russia's invasion, according to a British government statement. After the JEF summit, Sunak is expected to meet Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins, before heading to Estonia to meet UK and NATO troops serving on the military alliance's eastern flank on the Russian border. Sunak will sign a technology partnership agreement with the Prime Minister of Estonia, Kaja Kallas, to bolster technology ties and support new digital infrastructure, the statement said.

☆ Ukraine's Zelenskiy asks European leaders for air defence, tanks, weapons
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Andrius Sytas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"I ask you to increase the possibility of supplying air defence systems to our country, and to help speed up the relevant decisions to be taken by our partners," Zelenskiy said, addressing Sunak. "For our defence operations to be more successful we need armoured vehicles, primarily tanks," said Zelenskiy. "The sooner we restore our border control, the stronger your security will be," Zelenskiy said. "Ukrainian children in their letters to St Nicholas ask for air defence, for weapons, for victory," he said, referring to the name used for Santa Claus in Ukraine. Reporting by Andrius Sytas, editing by Terje Solsvik, Stine Jacobsen and Tomasz JanowskiOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ EU leaders seek united front on China dependency
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRUSSELS, Oct 21 (Reuters) - European Union leaders expressed increasing concern on Friday about economic reliance on China, mindful of the gas dependency built up with Russia that Moscow has exploited, and said they needed a united stance towards Beijing. The EU has regarded China since 2019 as a partner, economic competitor and systemic rival. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz did not speak to reporters before Friday's summit session, but the EU leaders that did agreed the 27 EU members needed to present a common front. "China is best dealt with when we are 27, not when we are one on one vis-à-vis China," he said. Finnish counterpart Sanna Marin stressed the EU needed to avoid building future dependencies and instead promote stronger cooperation between democratic countries.

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