Today, 7 July, Martin Roger, Undersecretary for Political Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, took part in the side event “Secret Agency: Why Narva’s Not Next, and Other Myths” on the sidelines of the NATO Summit in Ankara, together with Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže and Lithuania’s Ambassador to NATO, Darius Jauniškis. The discussion was moderated by British security expert Edward Lucas.
The discussion focused on myths surrounding security on NATO’s eastern flank and how to dispel them, the comprehensive approach involving the whole society adopted by the Baltic States to prevent and counter hostile influence activities, and the broader security situation in Europe. Participants noted that while Allies must be prepared for the possibility that Russia may seek to test NATO, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are not where it would do so in practice.
“Narva is not next, because we are prepared and the Russians know it,” Undersecretary Roger said. The discussion concluded that Narva should instead be the place people visit next.
The discussion was organised by the Baltic International Security Centre (BISC), a think tank recently established in the UK by Edward Lucas.