DTN News: Latvia To Focus Foreign Troops On NATO Afghanistan Mission

DTN News: Latvia To Focus Foreign Troops On NATO Afghanistan Mission *Sources: DTN News / Int'l Media / AFP (NSI News Source Info) RIGA, Latvia - June 20, 2009: Latvia will focus its troop missions abroad on the NATO's operations in Afghanistan, a senior defence official told AFP Thursday, as deputies voted to pull troops out of two European missions. A Latvian army soldier observes his surroundings during a military exercise in Adazi, about 32 km (20 miles) from the capital Riga May 11, 2009. A unit of Latvia's soldiers, due to be deployed to Afghanistan to serve with the NATO-led ISAF force, complete their preparations for the mission with a military exercise that will their tactical skills. "Our absolute priority is Afghanistan and we want to focus all our resources there," the ministry's chief of staff Airis Rikveilis told AFP Thursday. Rikveilis was speaking as Latvian deputies voted to pull its troops out of the NATO missions in Kosovo and Bosnia-Herzegovina later this year. Seventeen Latvian troops will withdraw from the NATO-led Kosovo Force by August 14, 2009 and another two soldiers will pull out of the EU-led mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina by October 9, 2009. Some 160 Latvian troops are currently stationed in the NAT0-led ISAF mission in Afghanistan. An ex-Soviet republic of 2.3 million, Latvia joined the NATO Western military alliance and the EU in 2004, but is suffering worse than any other EU country, with GDP expected to contract by 18 percent this year. Facing bankruptcy, the government of Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis slashed spending to meet the terms of a multi-billion dollar bailout package agreed with the IMF, EU and other international lenders. Observer, Mentor, Liaison Team members, Maj. Jim Hickman and Latvian army Maj. Juris Abolins, patrols through the village of Nishagam, in Konar province, Afghanistan alongside members of the Afghan national army, March 18. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Matthew Moeller) Rikveilis said the decision on the troops was not directly related to austerity measures adopted by parliament this week, but admitted that the overall budget strictures had influenced their thinking. Earlier this year, Latvia's National Security Council decided in principle to end the Latvian troop presence in the European missions in 2009 because of the spending cuts.