RIGA, Jan 24 (LETA) - Decisions on building common defense infrastructure must be agreed among Baltic, Finnish and Polish military specialists, bearing mind that Latvia is part of NATO's common defense planning system, President Edgars Rinkevics stressed, commenting on discussions on strengthening the national border and Latvia's possible withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention on anti-personnel mines.

"I am confident that in discussions on the national military defense plan and the defense of the country's eastern border we will surely find mechanisms that will be absolutely reliable to strengthen our country. Another aspect is no less important. Finland, the Baltic states and Poland share borders with Russia and Belarus. If we want an effective defense mechanism, the countries have to work together," the president said.

He stressed that the discussion on how to strengthen border protection, what resources will be needed, what timeframe will be needed, has started both in society and in the government. At the moment, the proposals are at the level of plans, but concrete decisions will be left to the Cabinet of Ministers and the Defense Ministry.

Rinkevics said that at the beginning of the year, when asked about the Ottawa Convention, he had said that the opinion of experts and leadership of the armed forces would be important and decisive in this matter. The opinion has been received and it is against the withdrawal.

On January 23, the president met with the Latvian Chief of Defense, Lt. Gen. Leonids Kalnins, who outlined his position on the issue. According to Rinkevics, taking into account the practical considerations presented by Kalnins, the president fully respects the National Armed Forces' (NAF) position against withdrawal from the convention.

President Rinkevics called on the NAF commander to inform Latvian society about practical steps taken to strengthen the military defense of the country's eastern border. In addition, it was announced that an action plan for strengthening the military defense of Latvia's eastern border will be reviewed at the meeting of the National Security Council on Wednesday, January 24, including the tasks to be executed in line with an operational timeframe.