{"id":626412,"date":"2026-09-24T21:30:14","date_gmt":"2026-09-24T21:30:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/626412\/"},"modified":"2026-09-24T21:30:14","modified_gmt":"2026-09-24T21:30:14","slug":"latvia-supports-israels-right-to-self-defense-decries-naza-documentary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/626412\/","title":{"rendered":"Latvia supports Israel’s right to self-defense, decries ‘NAZA’ documentary"},"content":{"rendered":"

Israeli weapons are top-notch, and it has the right to self-defense, Latvian<\/a> Defense Minister Raivis Melnis told The Jerusalem Post in an exclusive interview on Thursday.<\/p>\n

Due to the Russia-Ukraine war,<\/a> Latvia currently faces the threat of drones spilling into its territory.<\/p>\n

This visit, against the backdrop of the upcoming elections in both Israel and Latvia, carries considerable weight. According to Israeli defense sources, Melnis stated during the visit that Latvia is open not only to dialogue, but also to action.<\/p>\n

During the visit, Melnis met with Defense Minister Israel Katz, Director-General Amir Baram, and top Israeli defense industry companies such as Rafael, Elbit, and Israel Aerospace Industries.<\/p>\n

Melnis told the Post that Latvia is looking into \u201cloitering systems and air defense systems\u201d among other defense products.<\/p>\n

\"Latvia'sLatvia’s delegation, headed by Raivis Melnis, with a delegation of Israeli defense officials on September 24, 2026. (credit: Israel Defense Ministry Spokesperson\u2019s Office)Latvia looks to buy Iron Dome system<\/p>\n

One system Latvia is exploring is Iron Dome, which is effective against drones and could be used to defend against drones from Russia. Meanwhile, Latvia has opted for a mutual, collective European air defense structure.<\/p>\n

Latvia is also exploring the possibility of implementing anti-ballistic missile systems.<\/p>\n

There have been reports that Israeli systems, other than the Arrow, can shoot down certain kinds of ballistic missiles \u2013 \u00a0and that they\u2019re cheaper than the Arrow. If it exists, this affordable alternative may appeal to smaller countries like Latvia.<\/p>\n

Melnis said they had \u201cinitiated those discussions, but we need to move fast. There is strong intent, and it would be very positive to get certain\u201d air defense systems.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe hope we will get these systems soon,\u201d he noted. \u201cIsraeli systems are battle-proven. [They are] very high-end systems that have shown reliability during three years of war. Israeli companies provide systems for defending Israel, but also have the capacity to produce for different foreign partners. Israel has developed a really strong military industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Melnis was asked if \u201cmoving fast\u201d meant three to five years, which is markedly shorter than the 10 years most defense systems take to develop. He responded: \u201cI hope it will take much less time than three years from the decision to the delivery. I hope for a much shorter time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Next, he was asked whether he\u2019d met with Israeli officials to obtain cyberdefense products, as cyberattacks are worsening worldwide. According to Melnis, obtaining cyberdefense products was not on the list of goals for this specific visit, \u201cbut our experts are looking at different additional new technologies to improve cyber capabilities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Melnis focused on discussing purchases of \u201cloitering munitions [kamikaze drones], artillery, and radar systems.\u201d He said that some of Israel\u2019s products have yet to be matched. Because of this, Melnis said he would send additional Latvian military experts to learn more.<\/p>\n

Moreover, he said he wanted to \u201clearn from Israel\u2019s experience about how to protect borders, including from drones, missiles, proxy forces, and in cyberspace.\u201d<\/p>\n

He affirmed that \u201cIsraeli advice and guidance, based on its battle experience, was very unique.\u201d<\/p>\n

Melnis said he told Katz that the only two countries that have wide-ranging battlefield experience are Israel and Ukraine. He added that Israel\u2019s experience in this arena went back decades, beyond the last three years of war.<\/p>\n

In addition, Melnis said the visit has \u201ca political perspective. Our president and other officials have visited Israel. This deepens our political cooperation. We strongly support Israel\u2019s right to self-defense.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cWe condemn Iranian attacks on Israel and support Israel\u2019s defense of its country and its people. Iran is an enemy not just for Israel, but also for the region, and for our friends in Ukraine, where Iran is supporting Russia.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the NAZA film harming Israel\u2019s reputation across the globe, Melnis said that he wanted to \u201cshow solidarity \u2013 it is an honor to be here.\u201d He noted that he has not yet seen the film.<\/p>\n

While the EU is boycotting Israel\u2019s settlements, Latvia wants to expand economic cooperation and friendship with Israel. Melnis\u2019s visit follows two previous visits to Israel by the head of Latvia\u2019s Procurement Department.<\/p>\n

In recent years, according to foreign sources, Latvia has purchased Israeli arms and cyberware in several deals. These include Rafael\u2019s Spike missiles, worth around 200 million euros; Elbit\u2019s UT30 turret system; and several contracts reportedly worth more than 600,000 euros, intended to buy Cellebrite\u2019s phone-hacking equipment and software.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Israeli weapons are top-notch, and it has the right to self-defense, Latvian Defense Minister Raivis Melnis told The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":626413,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[20491,97833,15621,85,46,2723,4428,43,132892,1593,1594,74283],"class_list":["post-626412","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-israel","tag-elbit","tag-elbit-systems","tag-iai","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-israel-katz","tag-latvia","tag-news","tag-rafael-advanced-defense-systems","tag-russia","tag-ukraine","tag-ukraine-russia-war"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/626412","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=626412"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/626412\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/626413"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=626412"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=626412"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=626412"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}