Latvia Will Not Allow Deployment of NATO Nuclear Weapons on Her Territory - 18 September, 2002

Russia's fears that Latvia will become an advanced post for NATO nuclear weapons after its entry into the alliance are ungrounded. Andrejs Pildegovics, the Latvian president's advisor on foreign policy, told Reuters that 'it is not necessary, nor is there any intention, to establish NATO bases or deploy nuclear weapons in Latvia'.

Meanwhile, Latvian Prime Minister Andris Berzinsh called the Russian Foreign Ministry's suggestion that nuclear weapons would be deployed in Latvia after its entry into NATO a provocation. Berzinsh told the Latvian news agency BNS that the question of deploying nuclear weapons in Latvia has never been considered by the Latvian Government.