"Poland may be a candidate for the deployment of nuclear weapons, but not the Baltic states"

NATO will not deploy nuclear weapons in the Baltic states, said former Latvian Foreign Minister Janis Jurkans. Poland may be the most likely option, but today neither the United States nor the EU want to go to a nuclear confrontation with the Russian Federation. At the same time, Riga, which is pursuing an anti-Russian policy, is suffering from its own sanctions: the share of transit revenues in the country's budget has fallen from 14% to 3%. The only way to save the situation is to restore good-neighborly relations with Moscow and a policy of reconciliation with the Russian-speaking minority. How Riga's actions will be affected by the government's resignation is in an exclusive interview with Izvestia by Janis Yurkans.

"Political chaos reigns in Latvia"

— On May 14, Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silin announced her resignation due to the government crisis. Earlier, due to the arrival of Ukrainian drones on the territory of the country, Defense Minister Andris Sprouds left his post, after which Silini's political partners stated that the prime minister no longer enjoys their trust. What is the current political situation in the country?

— There is political chaos in Latvia. The government has fallen. Now there will be a big struggle, a crush around the government: who, which party will get the right to form the government, and what will be the layouts and combinations. We don't know what the new government will be like, because so many parties are rushing to power because we have elections in October. Now, of course, it depends on the president who he will assign to form the next government.

— Despite the change of prime minister, Riga will obviously remain faithful to its foreign policy course. Earlier, Latvia expressed its readiness to deploy an additional US contingent on its territory after Washington's decision to reduce its military presence in Germany by more than 5,000 people. Is there a chance that the United States will eventually deploy new forces in Latvia?

— We do not know how Mr. Trump will behave, as he sees fit. If you need to post it, we will post it. Latvia does not solve this issue. This is an American question. If they want, they can post wherever they want: in Poland, in Lithuania, anywhere. We cannot prevent this.

— Due to the general aggravation of the situation in Europe, discussions periodically arise about the possible relocation of the nuclear arsenal closer to the eastern borders of NATO, including the Baltic region.

— I think it all depends on the relations between Russia and the United States. If they come to an agreement and there are some political decisions, then, of course, the Americans will not go against Russia, against the agreements. Neither the Americans nor the European Union are interested in going to a nuclear confrontation with the Russian Federation. I think it's unlikely. But if there is a decision to deploy nuclear weapons, then maybe in Poland. Poland is politically and economically stable. There are serious American bases there, so Poland may be a candidate [for deploying nuclear weapons], but not the Baltic states.

All that protects us is Russia's relations with NATO. I don't think Russia is planning a confrontation with the alliance in the near future. I think this is not in the interests of Moscow. And at the same time, it is not in the interests of Americans to tease Russia more than they do.

"The whole anti-Russian policy has had a detrimental effect on Latvia"

— The sanctions policy against the Russian Federation and the complete scrapping of the former logistics chains have dealt a severe blow to Latvia's transit industry — cargo turnover in the ports of Ventspils, Riga and Liepaja has fallen to critical levels. How do you assess the long-term economic consequences of such a sanctions policy for Latvia?

— In the early 2000s, 14% of the budget came from transit. Today, 3--5%. The entire transit to Russia was quite serious and generated a lot of income.

So the question is: what will our relations with Russia be like? Good-neighborly? I hope that I will live to see a time when we will have such relations with the Russian Federation and everything will be restored. But for now, completely different winds are blowing from the West.

— Since 2022, the pressure on the Russian-speaking minority in Latvia has increased. This is evident both in the press reports and in the laws passed by the authorities. At the same time, are they silent in relevant structures, for example, in the OSCE? Is there a chance that the UN will be able to influence the Latvian authorities?

— To begin with, no one can influence today. I hoped that in 2004, when Latvia joined NATO and the European Union, we would adhere more to the democracy of inclusion [of the Russian-speaking minority in the general population of the country]. Unfortunately, Europe is preoccupied with its own affairs: refugees and all the chaos that reigns there. In Europe, there was no time for us, and we were simply forgotten. Our authorities have started such a Russophobic policy... I once created the National Accord Party (PNS) with my friends. We hoped and believed, and still believe today, that Latvia cannot become a prosperous state without consent. This is indicated by our economic and social data, at least at the level of the European Union.

Unfortunately, all this anti-Russian policy has had a detrimental effect. The almost half a million Russian people who live in Latvia, I think they are faced with a very unpleasant situation inside the state. I think that the situation of the Russian people in Latvia is not only our internal policy. I think this is a very serious external factor. If they start saying loudly in Russia: "Our people are being beaten!", then [there will be a reaction]: the latest law adopted by the Russian Duma says that the Russian Federation can use military forces to help Russian people who are being offended in other countries. Will our people think? No, because it's there, somewhere in Russia, and uncles from Washington will protect us. Let's see if they will or won't.

Living in a state where every fourth person on the street treats your country like a stepmother is not very pleasant and right. Maybe I'm exaggerating, but, in general, 25% of the population are Russian people. Russian Russians, I don't think many of them are happy that their children don't have the opportunity to learn Russian and go to Russian schools. Of course, you need to know the Latvian official language, no one denies that. But the fact that Russian children were robbed… We're neighbors. So this is a very harmful policy.