This comes at a time when the US Chief of Staff, General Mark Milley, arrived in Latvia to reassure the NATO member state, which she said is threatened because of its proximity to Russia, which may turn into a “second North Korea.”
Blinken is expected to offer reassurances to the small country on Ukraine’s western border that includes the pro-Moscow breakaway region of Transnistria.
Analysts believe that the territory of the breakaway region can be used in the framework of Russian military operations in Ukraine.
Tens of thousands of refugees have flooded into Moldova, one of Europe’s poorest countries, straining its social services.
Earlier on Saturday, Blinken visited Ukraine’s border with Poland, which received 700,000 Ukrainians who fled the war.
The US Secretary of State informed the Poles that Washington was working to provide $2.75 billion to help address the humanitarian crisis caused by Russia’s attack on Ukraine.
In Latvia, the US Chief of Staff told local media, “We are here to reassure Latvia, the Latvian people and the Latvian army that the United States is here to help them,” after he visited the Adazi military base, near Riga, and some of the 1,400 American soldiers deployed in the country.
Washington has deployed about 20 Apache combat helicopters to Latvia since Russia’s military operations in Ukraine on Feb. 24.
Milley ruled out the idea of establishing a no-fly zone in Ukraine because it would require “active combat” of Russian forces.
“So we will have to go and actively fight the Russian air force,” he said, adding that “neither NATO Secretary General (Jens) Stoltenberg nor any senior political official from member states said they wanted to take such a step.
In Riga, Milley met senior Latvian military officials who asked him to increase US military assistance, particularly through the provision of air defense systems, coastal surveillance ships and artillery, according to Latvian Defense Minister Artis Pabrix.