Braže: Latvia's ties with Washington do not depend on who wins US elections
Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže said relations with the United States rest on long-term cooperation and shared security interests. Latvia will keep up dialogue with the newly elected US Congress and work to strengthen Baltic support groups there.
Latvia's relations with the United States are built on long-term cooperation and shared security interests, and do not depend on election cycles, Foreign Minister Baiba Braže (New Unity party) said. Her remarks followed the US midterm elections held on Tuesday, in which the Democrats regained control of both chambers of Congress, the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Braže highly appreciated the consistent support that both major US political parties have shown for the security of the Baltic states and for transatlantic cooperation.
Latvia's priorities
The minister said Latvia will continue close dialogue with the newly elected Congress. Particular attention will go to cooperation in security and defence, keeping a US military presence in Europe, long-term support for Ukraine and the continuation of the Baltic Security Initiative.
Support groups in Congress
Braže stressed that the plan for the new session of Congress is to focus on restoring and strengthening the Baltic support groups. She recalled that in the current session 157 members of the House of Representatives belong to the Baltic caucus, while 40 senators are in the Senate Baltic Freedom Caucus. She described this as evidence of bipartisan support for the Baltic region.
"Given the upcoming changes in the leadership and composition of the groups, Latvia together with its Baltic partners will actively work on attracting new co-chairs, keeping existing supporters engaged and reaching out to newly elected members of Congress," Braže said.
