Politician: Latvia should build nuclear power plant with USA

Latvia should build a nuclear power plant with the United States, says Ainars Slesers, a politician and founder of the recently established party Latvia First. According to Slesers, since Russia's invasion of Ukraine the world has changed and only the USA can guarantee Latvia's security, not Europe. Having more US investments in Latvia will make us feel safer, Slesers adds. The following is the text of an unattributed article entitled "Slesers: We have to sit down with Americans and say clearly that we want to build nuclear power plant with them", published by the conservative daily Latvijas Avize on 24 May 2022:

On [commercial] TV24, Ainars Slesers, the founder and chairman of the board of the Latvia First party, has raised the topic of energy efficiency or economy, as there is talk about how to make things more efficient but we continue to heat our houses and open the windows in winter. This is what the state is doing now: new agencies are being created without the old ones being dismantled.

Asked to comment on energy policy in Latvia at the moment, Slesers said: "Today we have to look at this issue through a geopolitical prism. It is clear that the world will never be the same again as it was before 24 February, which is why there is only one country in the world that can guarantee Latvia's security: the United States. Unfortunately, it is not Europe.

"We need to sit down at the negotiating table with the Americans and make it clear that we want to build a nuclear power plant with them that could provide us with energy security in the long term, not for just one to two years. The Americans will be interested, they will also fund this project. Normal conditions must be agreed on so that our economy will have cheaper energy in the end."

It is important to look for a solution that will ultimately reduce prices rather than increasing them. If there is no longer cheap gas coming from Russia, "the only option is to implement a project with the Americans, because we need American investment to make us feel safer".

As there is no need for tenders in this sector, it is necessary to sit down at the governmental level, calling for the best company to be delegated and implementing such a project together.

Source: Latvijas Avize, Riga, in Latvian 0000 gmt 24 May 22