Latvia demands explanations from Russia about missile launches near Latvian coast
Latvian Defense Minister, Raimonds Bergmanis, stated that Latvia expects explanations from Russia regarding two scheduled training missile launches planned by Moscow in the Latvian exclusive economic zone in the Baltic Sea. Despite being planned, the launches did not go through.
The Minister emphasized that the airspace over the Baltic Sea is heavily used for air travel. Therefore the predictability of such exercises is an important factor for air safety.
“We want information from the Russian Federation explaining why the declared training was not held for a second time. I do not have any data—maybe it happened for technical reasons, but I have no explanation yet why we did not see anything in the reserved sectors,” Bergmanis explained.
The Ministry of Defense of the Republic reported that the Russian Main Center of the Unified Air Traffic Management System had informed the Latvian Civil Aviation Agency that the Russian Navy had reserved airspace from April 17 to 19 and planned to conduct training missile launches on April 19.
President of Latvia, Raimonds Vējonis, called the announced firing a demonstration of force and provocation.