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Andrii Sybiha and Baiba Braže discussed expanding defense cooperation between Ukraine and Latvia

Ukraine Government

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, posted 27 November 2025 13:23

On Thursday, November 27, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha held bilateral talks in Kyiv with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, Baiba Braže, who was making her fourth visit to Ukraine since she had assumed office.

Andrii Sybiha briefed his Latvian counterpart on the proposals for peace that Ukraine had received from the United States last week, as well as on the current work of the Ukrainian and American negotiating teams. The Minister emphasized the important role of Europe in the peace efforts.

"Ukraine will use every opportunity to find ways to end the war. We have coordinated further steps, and I am grateful to Ms. Baiba Braže for her advice and principled position," the Minister of Foreign Affairs said.

The parties paid special attention to increasing pressure on moscow to force the aggressor state to peace. The Minister stressed the need to adopt a strong 20th package of EU sanctions and decisions on a Reparations Loan as soon as possible in order to make full use of immobilized russian assets.

Following the talks, the parties agreed, together with other Baltic countries, to promote additional effective measures at the EU level to further counter russia's tanker fleet.

"The Baltic Sea should not contribute to russia's bloody oil earnings, which also pose risks to the environment," the Head of the Ukrainian diplomatic service stressed.

The ministers also discussed defense priorities for the coming year, in particular, expanding cooperation between Ukraine and Latvia in the field of joint production and technology exchange.

"We appreciate Latvia's assistance in training Ukrainian military personnel and its care for wounded defenders. We are grateful for its leadership in the Drone Coalition, within which Latvia has delivered 12,000 drones this year. We discussed increasing production and delivery volumes for 2026," Andrii Sybiha said.

Separately, the heads of diplomatic institutions focused on supporting Ukraine's energy system ahead of winter. The Ukrainian side is grateful for Latvia's additional contribution of EUR 125,000, contributing to the restoration of energy facilities, uninterrupted power supply, and stabilization of the energy system.

The Minister expressed his deep gratitude to Latvia for its comprehensive support for Ukraine from the first days of the full-scale invasion, in particular for its annual defense assistance amounting to 0.25% of Latvia's GDP. In total, its volume has already exceeded 1.6% of Latvia's GDP.

"This includes weapons, ammunition, training of military personnel, and financial support. We are also grateful to Latvia for joining PURL and for the recent transfer of 42 PATRIA 6x6 armored personnel carriers," the Foreign Minister added.

The Minister especially thanked Latvia for rebuilding critical and civil infrastructure in Chernihiv region and for providing vacations in Latvia for children from the Ukrainian region. The interlocutors discussed the implementation of this year's projects in Chernihiv region, totaling EUR 5.7 million, as well as prospects and priorities for next year.

"Yesterday, you opened two facilities in Chernihiv that had been rebuilt with Latvian funding: the pediatric wing of the Chernihiv Central District Hospital and the Human Rights Protection Center. We greatly appreciate these efforts," said Andrii Sybiha.

The Foreign Minister separately noted the importance of Latvia's election as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council. According to him, this will open up new opportunities for promoting initiatives in support of Ukraine. The diplomats discussed deepening cooperation in the UN and other international organizations.

An important part of the visit was the presentation of archival diplomatic documents from the era of the Ukrainian People's Republic and the Ukrainian State, which were presented to the Latvian delegation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. Among them are diplomatic documents of vice-consuls and consular agents of the Ukrainian State in Riga, kindly provided by the State Archival Service of Ukraine.

Presenting the exhibition to his Latvian colleagues, Andrii Sybiha emphasized that these documents testify to the long-standing diplomatic and interpersonal ties between Ukraine and Latvia. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine expresses its gratitude to the head of the State Archival Service, Anatolii Khromov, and the director of the Central State Archives of Supreme Bodies of Power and Government, Larysa Levchenko, for preparing materials for the presentation.