Latvia says no to conscription
Latvia has reaffirmed its commitment to meet NATO defence spending targets by next year but will not follow other allies in bringing back conscription, the country's top defence civil servant has said.
The small Baltic state – which is currently at the centre of a significant NATO build up to deter Russian aggression – has approved a three-year defence budget that will likely see it spend at least 2% of its GDP on defence by 2018.
Currently, only four European countries - Estonia, Greece, Poland and the UK – meet the all-important NATO defence spending target.
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