Interview with Maris Selga, Ambassador of Latvia to the United States
By Edgar B. Anderson
Latvian Newspaper LAIKS, August 24-30, 2024, Volume LXXV Nr. 31 (6161)
Ambassador Selga was a Diplomatic Guest of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This interview was conducted by LAIKS reporter Edgar B. Anderson and took place on the evening of Wednesday, July 17, 2024.
I am speaking with the Ambassador to the United States from Latvia, and your term is about up, is it not? Yes, it’s ending, so five years we have spent in the United States, so that we are leaving in the middle of August. And do you know where you go next? I am going back to Latvia. So it’s time after China and United States together so it’s time to go. So it’s almost ten and half years so it’s finally time to go home.
What have been the highlights of these five years here for you? Well, I mean, I started with presenting credentials to President Trump, and actually I can say that in some ways I am leaving with Presidential candidate Trump, so I mean so because I am not going for the Democratic Convention because my colleague is going. I will be in Latvia already. Not speaking about Covid, which was not a highlight for almost two years. I think that overall we have had a very good five years here I mean personally and, of course, also workwise. At Embassy we did everything we could.
A highlight was the one hundred year anniversary of diplomatic relations between Latvia and the USA. I think that the NATO Summit in Washington DC last week I think it was you know the crowning moment let’s say for a stay in DC. So that I mean you can collect pieces by pieces very good things and very good cooperation with the Latvian communities all over United States so that I think that you know Embassy people are always well and warmly received and welcomed and so I mean plus you know daily jobs.
During your term here in the USA the problem of Ukraine really blew up and has become a terrible problem for the people there and of great concern to Latvians. So what do you have to say about that? Well, we are almost on the front lines I mean so it’s what one country between or Russia in between or Belarus in between which direction you are looking. I mean we have to support Ukraine and you know very well that we are supporting Ukraine I mean as much as we can. It’s about one percent of our GDP goes to Ukraine, and the decision taken by government is to give zero twenty five percent for Ukraine military for the next three years so that you know we are in front lines of giving and helping Ukraine and, of course, there are Ukrainian refugees in Latvia living now for the third year. Nobody expected. They themselves they didn’t expect that they will be staying so long, but so they are now part of our society. So that Ukraine must win. Putin has to lose. And then I think let’s see what will happen next. What do you see in the next year? Well, we all I think expect the war to end, but it has to end I mean on Ukrainian terms. So will it be next year? Let’s see.
And how is NATO holding together? There was a big issue during the Trump years. He pushed the NATO countries to pay what he called their “fair share” because some of them I think like Germany they were not. “Fair share” it started not only, of course, with President Trump. It started earlier at least with President Obama. Trump did it, you know, in the Trump way. So I think that we are Baltic States in general we are giving around 3%. So Latvia is giving 3% GDP for defense and security related issues. And the same our neighbors Lithuania and Estonia. I mean the result of the NATO Summit I think it’s 23 countries now out of 32 actually who are doing 2% or close to at least 2%. So that you know there is progress. Of course, we need to push our colleagues to do more, but I think we are in the right direction.
With all this pressure on the border, at least psychological pressure for sure, how is the economic situation in Latvia? Well, as you know very well the war started full-fledged war in Ukraine started so we had a spike in prices for energy. So we were dependent on Russian gas before. Now it’s zero I mean so that there is no dependence at all. But, of course, it cost us, cost households so we had to pay more for energy. Now the prices are going down I mean so that inflation is going down. So if you in United States saying that it’s the largest inflation in the last 40 years of about 9 percent so we had over 20% inflation, but now it’s down. It doesn’t mean that everything is okay because out of you know money we are giving away to Ukraine so that we have to let’s say we have to little bit think how we spend our resources as well. But I think that we are on the right path.
As a diplomat what can you say to Latvians who are really not that familiar with the political conflicts in Latvia — the multiple parties — is it so extreme as it is in the United States, so polarized? It’s my impression that it really isn’t anything like we have here. No, I don’t think that it’s extreme. I think we have different political parties. So when you were electing, you know, the Speaker for what 15 votes I said that’s the closest as you can get to the parliamentary democracy because it’s a Presidential system in the United States. But I think we have found a way. I mean it always has been a coalition government in Latvia. So our politicians know how to work it out. So there has not been a time without a government anyway. So I think that even with those parties in Parliament so we can find a way. We are used to it so that we know how it is.
I notice that in LAIKS almost in every issue there are pictures of the new President. He seems to be out and about with the people quite a bit. Well, he is doing his job. I mean I think he is doing very well, connecting with people. He was, for example, the head of our delegation to the NATO summit as well so that he is very much involved in foreign policy issues as well.
And recently the EU elections took place. I looked at the results, and I found it curious that — maybe it was because Latvia was only allotted, I believe, nine seats – that a party that got seven percent got one seat and a party that got 25 percent got two seats. Well, I don’t know to be very honest how the calculation works. But you have to overcome five percent. That’s the first threshold, and then I think it works somehow there is some kind of system actually which distributes seats accordingly you know what you get. But I think that results of European Parliament elections they were not a big surprise so I think we almost got the same people elected into the European Parliament.
Last thing: Somebody whom we know told me one day life has never been so good in Latvia, and she was really thinking Riga, and when I was there last spring I saw this. It was wonderful in the middle of Riga, but, of course, for the people for whom life is working very well life is great, but for maybe pensioners it’s tough because they can’t compete in the new economy. So what is done to make sure that everybody is doing alright? Well, it’s market economy, and I think we have been for 20 years now member of the European Union and member of NATO, which actually has given with all the ups and downs let’s say within a country regarding economy like we had crisis in 2008 and 2009, we had Covid and the government was pouring in money helping businesses and people in general. So I think that both organizations give us stability. We are part of Eurozone so there is no fluctuation of the currency. You can always find you know somebody who is not as happy as we would like to have him, but I think that overall I think it’s a stable environment where we can live. And we are all wishing you know to have bigger and larger salaries, you know, I mean so but I think it’s slowly slowly but the time will come.
Thank you. It’s always so nice to see you. Yes, nice to meet you again. Thank you very much.