In an interview with Diena, the "Russia expert" notes that the visit of the head of the intelligence service is a "positive news for Latvia, we are under the protection of the USA and not forgotten." The symbolic significance, according to K. Dauksts, primarily lies in the route of the trip: "In this case, the coordination also has many psychological aspects – after all, it was Riga, not Tallinn or Vilnius..." At the same time, "Mr. Rinkēvičs' restraint in commenting on the actions of another state is related not only to the interests of our country. He is restrained so as not to complicate the political relations of the great power with his comments..." An important factor is also the position of the leader of the PRC, Xi Jinping. "For he commanded Putin to forget about the use of nuclear weapons. Therefore, I do not believe that its use is seriously being discussed at this time... Putin will not go for it – he has Siberia, China is nearby, and he simply cannot violate the agreements with the PRC." "In my opinion," summarizes Mr. Dauksts, "we remain at the same level of threats as before. Nothing has fundamentally changed; everything will depend on the stability of the internal political development of our state, and this will be the determining element. External elements of influence (they are acting, of course) are important, but the most crucial remains the internal development of Latvia."
