Latvia, Legislation, Security, Society

''As defense minister, I will turn to you, my colleagues in parliament, this year to make a politically important decision for Latvia's national security and increase the number of Latvian soldiers by 2,000 by 2018,'' Vejonis said during today's foreign policy debates at Saeima.

''Our soldiers are the guarantee or our existence,'' he said. ''We must be raise confidence that Latvia, even though we are small, is capable of defending itself.''

He emphasized that Latvia needs professional, well prepared and motivated soldiers. ''This also means increasing the number of soldiers,'' Vejonis said.

The minister's advisor Aija Jakubovska explained to LETA that the minister has clearly expressed his political stance that it is not possible to improve the capability of the National Armed Forces without increasing the number of soldiers.

She said that the defense minister insists that high level decisions must be made already this year, so that the number of troops could be increased by 2018 in accordance with the National Armed Forces' development plans, which has already been allocated financial resources. Thus, the current Saeima and government should work so that all the decisions on the development of the armed forces are implemented by 2018, so that the next Saeima and government would be able to begin a new stage in the development of national defense.

Already now, the Defense Ministry and the National Armed Forces are working on improving social guarantees for soldiers, and one of the goals is to hold onto professional soldiers, Jakubovska added.

She said that the minister's announcement today does not mean a ''mechanical'' increase in the number of soldiers, but an offer to begin discussions and make the most appropriate decisions with the country's long-term development in mind. ''It cannot be allowed for such a decision to be made without discussions, or at the last minute,'' Jakubovska said.

It is not yet known when exactly the minister will turn to Saeima with his proposals.

As reported, Latvia plans to continue developing the Home Guards in the upcoming years, which includes a substantial increase in the number of servicemen. At the moment, the number of Home Guards in Latvia is at around 8,000, but the number of servicemen is expected to be increased by several thousand.

In accordance with the national defense plan, the number of Home Guards will be increased to 12,000 or even 13,000.

Meanwhile, National Armed Forces Commander Raimonds Graube previously told LETA that Latvia currently has around 5,000 professional soldiers serving in its armed forces, and that it is planned to increase the number of soldiers by at least several hundred.