Drone manufacturer Garisons: security threats must be discussed openly, situation will worsen
Businessman and former Defence Ministry state secretary Jānis Garisons said on TV24 that media and officials must speak more openly with the public about the security threat posed by Russia, warning the situation will only get worse.
Businessman, drone manufacturer and former Latvian Defence Ministry state secretary Jānis Garisons said on the TV24 programme "Nedēļa. Post Scriptum" that Latvia and the rest of Europe need to communicate more openly with the public about the security threat posed by Russia.
Garisons noted that the current difficult security situation did not emerge suddenly and has existed for some time, but it can no longer be met with silence. He said the key challenge is how media and officials should approach the conversation with the public, since the situation is likely to keep deteriorating.
Threats affecting all of Europe
According to Garisons, the security issue is not unique to Latvia — similar concerns are currently relevant across Europe, and Western countries are increasingly recognizing their vulnerability to threats originating from Russia. At the same time, he stressed that Latvia is relatively better prepared than other European countries.
Garisons recalled that a full-scale Russian invasion of Europe has so far been prevented by Ukraine's resistance to the war.
Historical parallels
Asked why Russian President Vladimir Putin might need a second front against NATO, Garisons drew parallels with World War II history, recalling that Adolf Hitler initially tried to avoid fighting a war on multiple fronts but later lost his grip on reality.
Fellow panelist Andrejs Panteļejevs, a publicist and former parliamentary secretary at the Defence Ministry, offered a different view, arguing that Russia's actions cannot be explained by a loss of touch with reality or unpredictability — rather, they reflect careful calculation. According to Panteļejevs, Putin's main current objective is to intimidate the West into halting or limiting its support for Ukraine.
