Latvia FM urges NATO to adopt Ukraine tactics

Latvian officials used this week’s NATO summit in Ankara to press a message they have been making for months: the alliance should adapt faster to the kind of drone warfare and layered air-defence demands exposed by Russia’s war in Ukraine. NATO’s official summit pages show allied leaders met in Ankara on July 7-8, with support for Ukraine, deterrence and defence, and technology adoption on the agenda. The immediate trigger for the latest push was a July 8 intervention from Latvia at the summit, reflected in a social-media post from the Latvian foreign ministry cited in the source material. The broader policy line is consistent with public statements from President Edgars Rinkēvičs and Foreign Minister Baiba Braže over the past two months, both of whom have argued that NATO needs stronger air-defence and counter-drone capabilities on its eastern flank. (nato.int) ### Why is Latvia making this case now? May 21 marked one of the clearest statements from Rinkēvičs before the summit. In a call with the presidents of Estonia and Lithuania, he discussed the threat posed by unmanned aerial vehicles to Baltic airspace and the need to strengthen NATO defence capabilities on the alliance’s eastern flank, according to the Latvian presidency. (president.lv) May 28 added a more detailed foreign-ministry case. Braže said at a Drone Summit in Riga that NATO and European countries must draw on Ukraine’s battlefield experience and rapid technological development, and she said the rise in UAV incidents near Latvia’s eastern border and in Baltic airspace underscored the need for stronger deterrence, air defence and anti-drone technologies. (president.lv) ### What does “Ukraine tactics” mean in Latvia’s public messaging? May 13 offers the most concrete formulation from Rinkēvičs. After meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Bucharest, he said Ukraine’s military capabilities and fast-growing defence industry were essential for Latvia’s and Europe’s security, and described Ukrainian-produced weapons and unmanned aerial vehicles as tested on the battlefield. (mfa.gov.lv) The same May 13 statement said Latvia wanted deeper defence-sector cooperation with Ukraine, including drawing on Ukraine’s experience in integrating the defence industry into the armed forces. Rinkēvičs also highlighted Ukraine’s advanced counter-drone capabilities and welcomed Kyiv’s readiness to send experts to Latvia to help strengthen Latvian air-defence capacity. (president.lv) ### Is this only about Latvia, or about NATO’s eastern flank more broadly? Latvia’s public language has consistently framed the issue as an alliance matter. Rinkēvičs said on May 21 that NATO should continue investing in air-defence and counter-drone capabilities and review capability targets so it can respond more effectively to current threats. (president.lv) Braže’s May 28 remarks also tied the issue directly to NATO’s eastern flank, saying allies must be able to detect, intercept and collectively respond to low-altitude threats more effectively. NATO’s own background page for the Ankara summit said deterrence and defence, capability delivery and continued support for Ukraine were central themes for leaders meeting in Türkiye. (president.lv) ### How does this fit into the Ankara summit agenda? NATO’s summit overview says leaders gathered in Ankara to review progress since the 2025 Hague summit and set a roadmap on defence investment, industrial production and support for Ukraine. The alliance said Ukraine’s security is linked to NATO’s security and that allies would continue military assistance as Russia’s war continues. (mfa.gov.lv) The summit programme shows the Ankara meeting ran through July 8 at the Beştepe Presidential Compound in Türkiye. Latvia’s intervention on drones and integrated air defence therefore landed inside a summit already structured around capability development, defence production and long-term support for Ukraine. ### What comes next from Latvia’s side? Latvia has already built some of the follow-through into its public planning. (nato.int) Braže said in May that Latvia, with the United Kingdom, leads the international Drone Coalition of more than 20 countries, aimed at supplying Ukraine with unmanned systems, developing Western drone industry capacity and strengthening allied capabilities. (nato.int) Latvia’s presidency also said in May that Ukraine was ready to send experts to Latvia to help strengthen air-defence capabilities. The next concrete markers are likely to come through NATO capability work after the July 7-8 Ankara summit and through Latvia’s existing cooperation with Ukraine on drones, counter-drone systems and integrated air-defence planning. (president.lv) (mfa.gov.lv)