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Russia’s Defense Ministry confirms invitation to Latvian military for Baltic consultations

Russia is ready to discuss security in the Baltic region as soon as its partners are ready for the dialog

The Russian Defense Ministry ITAR-TASS / Sergei Karpov

The Russian Defense Ministry

© ITAR-TASS / Sergei Karpov

MOSCOW, August 4. /TASS/. Russia’s Defense Ministry confirms the Russian side’s readiness to discuss security in the Baltics with Latvia and other countries in the region, Head of the Defense Ministry’s Main Department for International Military Cooperation Sergei Koshelev said on Thursday.

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"The Russian Defense Ministry perceived with a surprise Latvian media reports on the absence of an invitation for representatives of the Latvian Defense Ministry for consultations among defense ministries in Moscow in September 2016 to remove concerns over the sides’ military activity in the bordering areas," Koshelev said.

The Russian Defense Ministry announced its initiative on holding consultations with the defense ministries of Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Poland, Sweden and Finland at a Russia-NATO Council meeting in July 2016, he said. "This idea was eventually confirmed on July 29, 2016 during a meeting of senior officials of the Russian Defense Ministry’s Main Department for International Military Cooperation and the Main Operations Department of the Russian Armed Forces General Staff with military attaches of foreign states accredited in Moscow," Koshelev said.

Also, the relevant note was handed in to the military attache at the Latvian embassy in Russia and this information was also transferred by the military attache at the Russian embassy in Latvia to the defense policy department head at Latvia’s Defense Ministry, he added.

Russia is ready to discuss security in the Baltic region as soon as its partners are ready for this dialog, he said.

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