| “Latvia is for Ukraine and Georgia to be in the Alliance” The North Atlantic Alliance summit will be held in Riga on November 28-29. For the first time, NATO leaders will gather so close to Russia. The hosts of the summit will be represented by Latvian Defense Minister Atis Slakteris.
This 50-year-old politician is the champion of Latvia, the USSR and the world in powerboating. Having started his career as an engineer on a collective farm, after 1995 Mr. Slakteris was elected as a member of parliament three times, and held the posts of State Minister of Cooperation and Minister of Agriculture. Now he is re-occupying the post of Minister of Defense; he was first confirmed in this position in 2004. On the eve of the NATO summit, Latvian Defense Minister Atis SLAKTERIS gave an interview to Vremya Novostey.
-- The NATO summit is taking place in close proximity to Russia, but Russia itself was not invited. Why?
- Only NATO member countries take part in the summit. Not only international problems will be discussed, but also the internal affairs of the Alliance.
But let’s not forget that there is the Russia-NATO Council, within which meetings are held quite often. And the main thing that needs to be understood is that NATO views Russia as its partner - sometimes convenient, sometimes inconvenient, but still a partner. The Cold War is long gone, and old threats have been replaced by new ones, primarily terrorism. Yes, each country - both Russia and Latvia as a NATO member - has its own security priorities. But NATO and Russia maintain a partnership.
-- Russia opposes NATO expansion to the former Soviet republics of Ukraine and Georgia. What is Latvia's position on this issue?
- You know, I am not a diplomat and I will say frankly: in this case, Russia takes the same position as it did in its time regarding Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, which are now NATO members. The NATO principle is very clear: each country makes its own decision on whether to join. And this is the decision of only this country, this is the decision of a sovereign state. Everyone needs to get used to this. Latvia is very interested in Ukraine and Georgia being in NATO.
-- Russia is also not happy with the fact that the airspace of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia is patrolled around the clock by NATO fighters based in Siauliai, Lithuania. Do you foresee the emergence of new military facilities near Russia?
-- There are no special NATO military bases in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. But since we are a NATO member country, absolutely any Latvian military facility is at the same time a NATO military facility. Latvia is a sovereign state and has the right to place on its territory those objects that it considers necessary . The border of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia is also the border of NATO.
— Will this border be strengthened and how?
-- The very fact of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia's membership in NATO makes the armed forces of all three countries stronger and more powerful. Most of the effort goes into preventing terrorist threats, such as the possibility of intercepting a hijacked aircraft at the border. Here, cooperation between NATO and Russia will only develop. What kind of confrontation can we talk about?
The problem of intercepting civil aircraft is relevant everywhere, including in Central Europe. It is especially relevant in border regions. It is also relevant for Russia. And patrolling the airspace is the right measure. Although, of course, there will always be political forces trying to play this card.
- The Cold War is in the past, but the military bloc cannot but have a potential enemy - that’s why it is a military bloc. Who do you currently consider a potential adversary?
- The main world problem is terrorism. NATO does not define its potential enemy in the same way as it did during the Cold War. And hardly anyone can seriously consider the possibility of an attack on Latvia, which is a NATO member. But terrorist attacks occur in NATO countries and in countries that are not members of the North Atlantic Alliance. The actions of terrorists are not so easily predicted...
-- Latvia continues to participate in the military mission in Iraq, although the majority of the population has a negative attitude towards this fact. And American voters were disappointed in the operation in this country. How much more time will Latvian military personnel spend in Iraq?
-- There is no talk about the withdrawal of Latvian military personnel from Iraq in the near future. And I don’t think that the US elections will somehow change this situation. I’ll explain it popularly: well, it can’t be that now everyone leaves Iraq and leaves the country to the mercy of fate! And since the international community has taken responsibility for the situation in Iraq, it must bring it to some kind of reasonable solution.
Latvia will remain in Iraq as long as necessary. Another thing is that the functions now assigned to our soldiers - and they serve as part of the Polish contingent - may change. In the region where the Latvian military serves, local armed forces are very actively developing, and work can be refocused on their training.
— Mr. Slakteris, at one time you were seriously involved in sports and were even the champion of the USSR in powerboating. Do you now regret that you went into politics?
— I don’t miss sports, because I never stopped playing them. He was the champion of the USSR and world record holder in powerboating. And in 2003 - during the work of the previous parliament - he was again among the medalists at the World Championships. He competed in the highest class competitions even when he was already the Minister of Defense. I think I will take part in competitions next year too. I’m in excellent shape, and I should be pleased with myself - after all, I am an international master of sports.
And my son has already taken first place in his category at the World Powerboat Championships, and third in the Grand Prix. I am my son's advisor. True, I am not his only coach. If last year he was surprised that I, showing something in training, completed a lap faster than him, but now he is already ahead of me. I need to train a lot to compete with my son. Although, to be honest, I don’t remember how many years I was the champion of Latvia - I have to somehow sit down and count...
-- Does sports training help in your current work?
- Yes! Latvia has now introduced a new military uniform, one of the best in the world. And when I, as the Minister of Defense, made the decision to purchase it, my commanders told me, they say, forever, everything we have is the worst, torn, rotten threads stick out. I then told them: “I know what needs to be done - we need to take on board the entire world experience and add something from ourselves, and then you will be the best. And this principle applies in any field.” And now we have one of the best military uniforms in the world. We purchased the best, highest quality materials for it abroad, but sewed the uniform in Latvia.
Riga balsam for Iraqi wounds
The two-day NATO summit opening in Riga on Tuesday will be the first such event in the post-Soviet space. Despite Russian objections, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia joined the North Atlantic Alliance in 2004. However, relations between Moscow and Brussels will not be the main topic of the Riga summit.
Heads of state and government from 26 countries will talk about peacekeeping in Kosovo, Sudan, Iraq and the Eastern Mediterranean. But their focus will be on NATO's largest peacekeeping operation in Afghanistan. Despite the efforts of the United States and Great Britain, the Europeans are not eager to send their troops to the explosive country. The decision taken in September by the defense ministers of NATO member countries to transfer half of the 20,000-strong contingent of American troops under their mandate only revealed the severity of the problem. It turned out to be easier for the Europeans to take under their wing 10 thousand Americans, who had previously acted independently in Afghanistan, than to find their own combat reserves. Therefore, we can expect that the United States will make another attempt in the Latvian capital to “put pressure” on its European allies to more actively occupy the Afghan mountains and valleys.
However, the position of the United States itself is vulnerable today. Failures in Iraq, the defeat of Republicans in congressional elections and the resignation of Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld will add confusion to the Riga summit. After all, it was Mr. Rumsfeld who in 2003 divided Europe into “old” and “new,” contrasting the old-timers of Europe in the person of Germany and France, who refused to support the Iraq campaign, with pro-American Eastern Europeans. True, among the latter, sobering up soon began. Bulgaria, Hungary and Slovakia announced the withdrawal of their troops from Iraq.
Yesterday, Czech Ambassador to NATO Stephan Fule stepped on a sore Iraqi blister. “We are still licking the open wounds left by our operation in Iraq. As an alliance, we need solidarity, not divisions,” he said in Brussels. Touching upon the prospects for the operation in Afghanistan, the Czech ambassador noted: “A number of countries in Central and Eastern Europe want to participate, but do they have the capabilities to do so?” Currently, the burden of the peacekeeping operation falls on the shoulders of the Americans, British and Canadians. And it is unlikely that the debate in Riga will be able to radically change the situation in Afghanistan. Interviewed by Danuta DEMBOVSKAYA, Riga |
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