Other events in Baltic States

A ceremony was held in Adazi where Latvia’s military base is located to close the first rotation of the NATO’s Enhanced Forward Presence Battlegroup Latvia, the Latvian Defense Ministry reported LETA.

The ceremony was lead by Canadian Joint Operations Command Chief of Staff Operations, William Seymour. During the ceremony, Lieutenant-Colonel Sean French took over command of the multinational battlegroup from Lieutenant-Colonel Wade Rutland.

Latvian Defense Minister Raimonds Bergmanis (Greens/Farmers), officials of the National Armed Forces and other high-ranking guests participated in the ceremony.

"The presence of the Canadian-lead battlegroup in Latvia has proved that it is strengthening NATO collective defense and cooperation among the Latvian armed forces and member states of the battle group. I an grateful to my colleagues from all the countries that participate in the battlegroup, and the battlegroup’s troops and their contribution in our collective defense," said Bergmanis at the ceremony.

As reported, in 2016, NATO decided to send multinational battalions led by U.S., British, Canadian and German troops to Poland and the Baltics due to the concerns about Russia's territorial ambitions after its annexation of Crimea in 2014 and support to pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine.

The multinational battlegroup in Latvia is lead by Canada and it consists of more than 1,000 troops from Albania, Italy, Poland, Canada, Slovenia and Spain deployed in Latvia on a rotation basis. This year also Czech and Slovakian troops will join the battlegroup in Latvia.