France will begin negotiations with Latvia on participation in a nuclear initiative

France has agreed to begin negotiations with Latvia regarding its accession to the French Forward Nuclear Deterrence Initiative. Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs made this announcement on September 22.

 

According to Kulbergs, he is in close contact with French President Emmanuel Macron regarding the deepening of cooperation between the two countries in the areas of security and defense. A French delegation is expected to arrive in Latvia in the near future to begin consultations.

“President Macron has agreed to begin negotiations with Latvia regarding our country’s accession to the French Forward Nuclear Deterrence Initiative,” Kulbergs said.

The prime minister also reported that Macron expressed a willingness to strengthen France’s military presence in Latvia, particularly in the area of air defense. According to Kulbergs, this should enhance the security of Latvia and NATO’s eastern flank.

Latvia’s Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defense have been tasked with preparing the country’s position, a model for cooperation, and a timeline for further negotiations regarding participation in the initiative and the strengthening of the French military presence.

Earlier, Latvia blocked an EU compromise on sanctions against Russian oligarchs.

France is likely attempting to link the removal of Russian-Uzbek billionaire Alisher Usmanov from the EU sanctions list to the release of French citizens detained by Azerbaijan. 

The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs declined to name the international partners who raised the issue of removing Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov from the EU sanctions list, or to explain the details of the “national security” rationale. 

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiga called on the European Union not to ease sanctions pressure on Russia and not to remove Russian oligarchs Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman from the sanctions lists.