Rinkēvičs noted that there was quite a lot of talk about events in the Middle East, especially in connection with the US operation against Iran. According to the Latvian President, many leaders pointed out that such decisive and determined action also sends a good signal to other"problematic leaders" that there are, after all, some boundaries that should be respected.
"The summit was really good because it demonstrated both the allies' determination to increase defense spending, as well as the fact that this is a different alliance than it was ten or fifteen years ago. But now the most important thing is how we will implement these decisions," said Rinkēvičs.
The Latvian President explained that the decision to allocate 5% of GDP to defense must be achieved by 20235, but the review will be in 2029. He explained that this is more related to NATO's four-year planning cycle. NATO's capability development goals have just been approved, which are also binding for Latvia. The next planning cycle and review of capability goals will take place in 2029.
"Then, seeing what Latvia and other allies have achieved, they will assess whether defense spending is too much or too little, making adjustments accordingly," said the Latvian President.
As has already been reported, the NATO summit took place in The Hague yesterday and today. The NATO summit was held in the Netherlands for the first time in the alliance's history. The summit was chaired by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

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