Addressing Ukrainian political experts and local journalists, the Latvian president told about the European standards of democratic states, members of the EU and NATO.

“Ukraine is faced with the decision to enter NATO, and we realize that Ukrainians are not unanimous on this issue. When Latvia was going to join NATO back in 1997, 30% of Latvians opposed the decision. At that time, it seems an insurmountable goal, and the people do not like when politicians offer them insurmountable goals. The international situation was also negative. But in five years we joined the alliance. Ukraine has an uphill work in this respect. We managed to get in the last carriage of the train that was leaving as the Berlin wall and the Iron Curtain were scrapped. We have been in NATO for four year now, and we are very pleased because it is impossible to defend ourselves on owr own. NATO is not a defense, it is security. We are not building up our defenses at the border. Our borders are very safe, and you can cross into Latvia from Russia by feet. Today our primary concern is contraband.

Naturally, we in the FSU were all brainwashed by the mass media into believing that we are going to be attacked by the West. But, in fact, the most dangerous enemy is inside the country, and the hardest job is to change the mindset of the people. When we knocked on NATO’s door, 70% of Latvians supported us – those who realized that we are going to benefit by the accession. In order to match NATO standards, we had to set up an anti-corruption bureau, cut the number of officials, make their activities transparent, reform our judiciary, harmonize our law with those of the EU. We are ready to share our experience with all who want to join NATO and the EU. There will be no invitations, but we are prepared to help you. Ukraine should prepare mentally for the final decision and wait for an appropriate psychological moment to come. Back-tracking from your declared accession plans would do you no good. You should go about translating and adopting democratic laws, reform your judiciary in proper time. Interestingly, all Latvian political parties reached a consensus on the country’s accession to NATO and decided not to compete or score political points on this issue. The goal of joining NATO, they agreed, excluded any competition among politicians, the Latvian president said.

The forum in Lviv was also addressed by Latvia’s Defense Minister Edgars Rinkevich, head of Latvian parliament committee for international relations Andris Berzins and Ambassador to Ukraine Atis Sanits. They stressed that there was a clear-cut plan for NASTO accession which included political and public campaign as well as international support. Cashing in on this tested technology, Ukraine should implement domestic reform, cooperate with NATO and form a favorable public opinion both in and outside Ukraine. Latvia, for example, capitalized greatly on the support of its diaspora in the world.