US Senators to Attend NATO Strategic Center Opening Ceremony in Latvia

A US congressional delegation will visit Riga on August 20 to take part in the inauguration ceremony of the NATO Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence (StratCom COE), the US Embassy in Latvia said in a statement Monday.

RIGA (Sputnik) — Senators John McCain and Sheldon Whitehouse will head a delegation that will include Senator John Barrasso.

The delegation is scheduled to meet with Latvian President Raimonds Vejonis, Prime Minister Laimdota Straujuma, and Minister of Foreign Affairs Edgars Rinkevics, according to the statement.

The senators are expected to meet US and Latvian troops at the Adazi Military Base in north-central Latvia.

NATO StratCom COE's stated goal is to improve strategic communications capabilities between alliance members. It became functional in January 2014, the same year seven NATO member states, including Latvia, announced the establishment of StratCom COE on their territories.

NATO has been strengthening its military presence in Europe, particularly in Eastern European countries close to Russian borders. Moscow has repeatedly stressed that NATO’s military expansion increases tensions, threatening regional and international stability.