Latvia is using other countries' experience in carrying out special operations and is ready to repel any kind of attack, including hybrid warfare, he added.
"We are ready to repel 'little green men." Latvia is facing a range of different threats, including unconventional, hybrid type and asymmetric. SUV is preparing and is ready to counter these threats," Usackis said.
The term "little green men" was introduced in 2014 after the events that preceded Crimea's reunification with Russia. The term applied to members of the Russian armed forces which ensured security on the peninsula during the Crimean referendum and wore unmarked green uniforms.
Crimea reunified with Russia after the referendum, with over 96 percent of the local population supporting the move in the wake of the coup in Kiev that toppled former President Viktor Yanukovych. Ukraine did not recognize the move and considers the peninsula as an occupied territory, while Russia stresses the legitimacy of the referendum.
Latvia has been a member of NATO since 2004. In May, the country's government adopted the "national defense concept," which stipulates allocating 1.7 percent of the Latvian GDP to the defense budget by 2017. The following year, Riga hopes to comply with the NATO demand of spend 2 percent of its GDP on defense.
The government argued that the concept was significantly influenced by changes in the regional security environment which posed an increased threat to Latvia.
