Latvia will have its hands full regardless of the outcome of the US presidential election - Rinkevics

RIGA - Latvia will have its hands full regardless of the outcome of the upcoming US presidential election, President Edgars Rinkevics told LETA on Monday. 

The president said that the victory of one candidate or the other should not be taken for granted. "We will have our hands full in any case, but we should not focus on the pre-election battles and debates, we need to prepare for a very extensive, intensive diplomatic work after the November elections, both with the Congress and with the new administration," Rinkevics said.

The president voiced hope that whoever wins the presidential election, the US will not slip into isolationism, that there will be an understanding that NATO is essential not only for Europe but also for US' security, and that transatlantic ties must be strengthened. "Authoritarian regimes such as Russia, China, North Korea were able to come together very quickly in the name of common interests. If we want to stand up to this, we also need to agree on closer cooperation," Rinkvics said.

The president noted that the US electoral debate and campaign is currently very polarized, as evidenced by the recent assassination attempt against Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and the harsh rhetoric on social media.

At the same time, the president said that Latvia would cooperate with any president elected by the people of the United States.

"We have had good experiences with both Democrats and Republicans in the administration and with both parties in Congress. Whoever becomes president of the United States, whichever party wins a majority in the Senate or the House of Representatives, my experience as foreign minister for many years and now as president shows that we cannot take things for granted - we have to constantly explain the specifics of our region and why proportional support has always been important," the president said.

Rinkevics added that even when George W. Bush became President of the United States, Latvia fought to be admitted to NATO, which took a lot of energy. However, when President Barack Obama came to power in the US, there was Russian aggression against Georgia, and then it was possible to start thinking seriously about the first defense plans for the Baltic states.

"The annexation of Crimea, Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine - all this shows that neither Latvian, nor Baltic, nor European diplomats will have time to relax," Rinkevics said.

Assessing cooperation with the current US President Joe Biden, Rinkevics said that he had had the opportunity to meet Biden several times during his tenure as foreign minister. Rinkevics also recalled that Biden visited Latvia in 2016 when he was the US Vice President.

The president also said that Biden was very well versed in both European and global issues, given his experience in foreign policy. In his view, Biden's understanding of our region and of international developments is very deep and broad.

Rinkevics pointed out that in late 2021 and early 2022, when there was a lot of talk about a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, it was the US administration that warned the world, using intelligence data. "It was a large-scale sharing of intelligence information with the public, warning allies, Ukraine, which was unprecedented in my memory. And I think that to a large extent, it allowed Ukraine to prepare and also to create the initial package of retaliatory economic sanctions and support packages, so that Ukraine could hold on and fight for the first few months," Rinkevics said.

The president also noted that Biden devoted a lot of attention to supporting Latvia on its path towards NATO.

As reported, last Sunday US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the presidential race. Biden posted his announcement on X.

After announcing his withdrawal from the presidential race, Biden endorsed Vice President Harris to become the Democratic Party's nominee for the US presidency.