Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics asked for a permanent presence of US soldiers in Latvia on Monday.

“Based on recent events, we would be quite enthusiastic with a permanent presence of US military here in Latvia,” Rinkevics said during a joint press conference in Riga with his US colleague Antony Blinken.

“We have no illusions about Putin’s Russia any longer, and we don’t see any reason to believe Russia will modify its attitude,” Rinkevics added.