Latvia–Poland relations are foreign relations between Latvia and Poland. Both countries enjoy good relations and are close allies. There are around 57,000 Poles living in Latvia.
In the 19th century, both Poles and Latvians were subjected to Russification policies within the Russian Empire. After World War I, both Latvia and Poland regained independence, and the nations became allies against the invading Soviet Russians. In January 1920 a joint Polish and Latvian force defeated the Red Army in the Battle of Daugavpils. The Polish victory in the Battle of Warsaw in August 1920, secured both Polish and Latvian independence. Both countries shared a common border in the interbellum.
In 1922, Poland and Latvia were among signatories of the Warsaw Accord, which however did not enter into force, as its other signatory Finland did not ratify it under pressure of Germany, which was hostile to Poland.[1] Instead, in 1925, Poland and Latvia together with Finland and Estonia signed a convention on conciliation and arbitration in Helsinki.[2]
In 1937–1938, both ethnic Poles and Latvians in the Soviet Union were subjected to genocidal campaigns carried out by the NKVD, known as the Polish Operation and the Latvian Operation respectively. Following the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, Poland and Latvia were both to be occupied by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. During the invasion of Poland by Germany and the Soviet Union at the start of World War II in September 1939, there were some 29,000 Polish citizens in Latvia, and soon 2,000 Polish refugees arrived to Latvia.[3]Aleksandra Piłsudska, widow of pre-war Polish leader Józef Piłsudski, with daughters Wanda and Jadwiga fled through Latvia to Sweden.[3] Poland was occupied by Germany and the Soviet Union since 1939, while Latvia was occupied solely by the Soviet Union since June 1940. Both nations were under common oppression, and many Poles and Latvians were forcefully deported by the Russians to Siberia.[4] In the course of Operation Barbarossa, from mid-1941, both countries were entirely occupied by Germany.
In 1942, Polish Prime Minister-in-Exile Władysław Sikorski's intervention to British and American authorities thwarted Soviet attempts to obtain Allied approval for the planned annexation of Latvia and eastern Poland.[5]
In 1944–1945, both countries were again occupied by Soviet forces. Soviet repressions and deportations of both Latvian and Polish citizens continued. Poland's formal independence was eventually restored, although with a Soviet-installed communist regime, while Latvia was annexed into the Soviet Union, thus both had no relationship until the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
After the fall of the USSR, both countries re-established diplomatic relations on August 30, 1991.
The Polish Air Force takes part in the NATO Baltic Air Policing mission to guard the airspace over the Baltic states including Latvia. Since 2017, a Polish military contingent has been stationed in Latvia as part of the NATO Enhanced Forward Presence defense forces.
In 2022, Latvian and Polish gas grids were connected, following the commissioning of the GIPL interconnection, also providing Latvia with a connection to the EU gas market.[7]
NATO and EU
Poland joined NATO in 1999, whereas Latvia joined NATO in 2004. Both countries became members of the European Union in 2004.
^ abJekabsons, Eriks (1995). "Uchodźcy wojskowi i cywilni z Polski na Łotwie 1939–1940". Studia z Dziejów Rosji i Europy Środkowo-Wschodniej (in Polish). XXX. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Naukowe Semper: 147–148. ISSN1230-5057.
^Boćkowski, Daniel (1999). Czas nadziei. Obywatele Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej w ZSRR i opieka nad nimi placówek polskich w latach 1940–1943 (in Polish). Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Neriton, Instytut Historii Polskiej Akademii Nauk. p. 301. ISBN83-86842-52-0.