He noted that he regularly visits Aglona, but this is the first time he is addressing the public during the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
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In any event, even the brightest and most peaceful one, safety must be considered, said the president.
According to him, currently not only in Latvia and Latgale, but worldwide, the sky is in danger.
“New incidents may repeat. Just yesterday we had to face this,” said E. Rinkevičius and thanked all the services that take care of people’s safety every day.
The president noted that ensuring Latvia’s security is not only their job.
“Because Latvia is not ‘they’ and ‘we’. Latvia is one big ‘we’. Each of us is responsible for ourselves and our loved ones, for our fellow citizens,” said E. Rinkevičius.
The president emphasized that in these difficult times, faith in goodness, universal values, and humanity must be preserved.
“These are values that are especially close here, right now, here in Aglona,” he said.
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“We must defend our Latvia both physically and spiritually. We must not waste time on trivialities. We must not argue, succumb to evil, hatred, prejudice, and intolerance,” emphasized E. Rinkevičius.
The president thanked the clergy and believers for the work they do every day to bring peace and trust, supporting those who need help – both material and spiritual.
“Today we must build Latvia’s future. In moments of threats and doubts, we must strengthen Latvia’s security and we must do it together, because we are one country and one nation, one Latvia,” emphasized the president.
In the municipalities of Upper Daugava, Preili, Rēzekne, Balvi, and Alūksne in Latvia, an airspace threat was declared on Friday at about 4 a.m. local (and Lithuanian) time, which was lifted after 50 minutes.
At that time, NATO air defense mission fighters successfully shot down a foreign drone that entered Latvian airspace over Balvi municipality.
According to current data, the drone entered Latvian airspace due to Russian electronic warfare actions.
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