Latvia says France is willing to negotiate nuclear shield agreement

“Ti am actively in contact with the French President [Emmanuel Macron] on closer cooperation between Latvia and France on security and defence,” Andris Kulbergs said in a statement.

“President Macron has opened negotiations with Latvia for the accession of our country to the French nuclear deterrence initiative, and a French delegation will soon arrive in Latvia to begin these negotiations. President Macron also expressed his commitment to strengthen the French military presence in Latvia, especially in the field of air defense,” he added.

The Kulbergs announcement coincided with the Latvian Government withdrawing its objections to the exclusion of two Russian oligarchs — Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman — from the EU’s latest list of sanctions.

According to international press agencies, such as the Financial Times and Euronews television station, which quote from its sources, France had supported Usmanov's withdrawal from the list to facilitate the release of French citizens detained in Azerbaijan.

The Latvian Government's statement did not link the French offer to Latvia to the fact that the Baltic country gave up the requirement that Usmanov and Fridman should remain on the Community sanctions list.

Kulbergs’ statement on the offer of Macron was, however, included in a more extensive statement explaining why Latvia had changed its position.

The press release quoted Kulbergs saying: “It was not about choosing between a good and a bad solution, but between a bad and a much worse one: an opportunity to choose between changing the status of two people and the future of the entire sanctions regime, which affects more than 2,600 people and entities associated with Russian aggression” to Ukraine.

However, the Latvian Government will promote legislation to impose national sanctions on both Russian oligarchs.

“Latvia will continue to use all legal instruments at its disposal to prevent the release of these people’s funds and economic resources in Latvia,” the statement says.

The news that Latvia will start talks to extend the French “nuclear umbrella” to its territory is the same day that Lithuanian Members took the first step in a process, which will last at least six months, to eliminate from the country’s constitution the ban on the presence of nuclear weapons in Lithuanian territory.

The Lithuanian parliament, the Seimas, today approved, with 99 votes in favour, 13 against and five abstentions, the beginning of the process of repealing Article 137 of the Constitution, which stipulates that “there shall be no weapons of mass destruction or foreign military bases in the territory of the Republic of Lithuania”.

Following the vote on the adoption of the constitutional amendment scheduled for October 6, and the final approval of which is scheduled for January 12, 2027, Lithuania may also incorporate nuclear weapons from its allies, such as the French nuclear deterrence agreement.

Last year, Estonia's Prime Minister, Kristen Michal, declared that his country, the northernmost of the three Baltic republics, was also open to the UK to highlight F-35 nuclear-powered combat aircraft in its territory.

All these Baltic countries border Russia, while Latvia and Lithuania also border Belarus.