Sweden will move ahead with plans to send troops to Latvia as part of NATO's deployment in the Baltic countries, which share land borders with Russia and its ally Belarus. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson announced this at a joint news conference with his Latvian counterpart, Evika Silina.

Kristersson stated that the objective is that these NATO forces, which will include armored vehicles and Leopard tanks, will be operational from the beginning of next year, VOA reported.

Sweden joined NATO last month, becoming the military alliance's 32nd member.