President Maia Sandu’s speech at the joint press conference with the President of the Republic of Latvia, Edgars Rinkēvičs

President Rinkēvičs, dear Edgars,

Thank you for the invitation to come to Riga. Latvia is a country Moldova feels close to - not just as a partner, but as a country that walked a path we are walking now. You know what it takes. And you have been generous in helping us get there.

Our bilateral relationship is solid and we feel your support. Moldovan professionals study European law here in Riga. Latvian companies are helping to design our digital infrastructure. You are supporting the modernisation of our armed forces. There is a direct flight between our capitals.

On our way to the European Union, Moldova, inspired by Latvia's path, is working hard. We are doing our homework, strengthening our institutions, reforming our judiciary, fighting corruption, aligning our laws with European standards. The Commission calls us the best-performing candidate.

We are doing this under conditions that are harder than what Latvia faced over two decades ago. A war on our border. A sustained campaign to destabilise our democracy. And yet - our people have voted three times in two years, under enormous pressure, and three times they have chosen Europe.

And I want to make the case plainly: Europe will be stronger and more secure with Moldova inside. A stable, European Moldova cannot be destabilised, cannot be used as a pressure point against the wider continent. We share 1,200 kilometres of border with Ukraine. A Moldova anchored in the EU strengthens Ukraine's entire western flank, and with it, the security of the region.

Enlargement is an important security investment Europe can make right now. I count on Latvia's voice - in Brussels, in the European Council, in every room where that decision is being shaped - to make that case.

And Moldova has something to offer too. We are not just asking to be protected - we are also contributing. We have spent the last several years on the frontline of hybrid warfare, and we are sharing those hard lessons with anyone who faces the same.

We send firefighters when our fellow Europeans need them. We contribute peacekeepers to international missions. A Moldova inside the EU does not add to the burden - it adds to the capacity.

On Ukraine:

Supporting Ukraine for us is a matter of our own survival. Ukraine stands between Moldova and the aggressor, and we owe it an enormous debt. Latvia's support has been extraordinary - among the most generous in the world relative to the size of your economy, and unwavering from the first day.

We feel the same obligation. We are sheltering Ukrainians, providing humanitarian aid, training their deminers, and adding our voice in support of Ukraine in every forum. We want to be part of and contribute to the coalition of the willing that helps secure Ukraine when the war ends.

Dear Edgars,

A country that has known what it means to lose its freedom - and win it back - understands this moment better than most. That is why Latvia's voice carries weight. And that is why Moldova counts on it.

Paldies. Thank you.