RIGA, May 8 (LETA) - After the drone incident in Latgale on Thursday morning, the analysis of mistakes is more important than the search for the person responsible, Andris Suvajevs, the head of the Progressives faction in the Saeima, told LETA.

Commenting on Prime Minister Evika Silina's (New Unity) announcement that she had invited Defense Minister Andris Spruds (Progressives) for a discussion on the drone incident on May 11, Suvajevs said that it had been seen several times that the Prime Minister has been evasive when it came to questions about demands for resignation of Progressives' ministers.

Suvajevs said that he could also ask Interior Minister Rihards Kozlovskis (New Unity) to come to the Progressives' parliamentary faction and ask for an explanation of why the residents of Rezekne did not follow instructions and what this shows about civil protection preparedness. "However, I believe that what is more important now is to analyze the mistakes, admit them and work to prevent them in the future," Suvajevs stressed.

As reported, Prime Minister Silina said in an interview with Latvian Radio, commenting on the delayed notification of residents after a drone incident in Latgale on Thursday morning, that the government's massive EUR 2 billion support to the defense sector, which has been provided at the expense of other needs, requires the sector to be more accountable to the Latvian people.

Silina was repeatedly asked whether Defense MinisterSpruds should resign in the wake of the drone incident, to which the prime minister did not give a straight answer, but criticized the defense minister's actions. She said that the defense and security sector has been substantially supported by the government, with no increase or even a reduction in funding for a number of other areas for this purpose. A budget of two billion obliges the minister to realize that the defense sector will be expected to step up its performance, Silina said.

She added that the ability of the armed forces to respond to air threats by scrambling fighter jets is "good news", but that the population should not be left without timely notification, no matter who the defense minister is.

Defense Minister Spruds also said later at a press conference in Rezekne that whether the cell broadcast was sent out too late is a valid question, and it is therefore necessary to assess what worked and what did not.

As reported, in the early hours of Thursday, several drones flew into Latvian airspace from Russia, at least one of which crashed in Rezekne, damaging an oil storage facility. It is believed that another drone may have fallen in a more remote location, while another drone left Latvian airspace.

People in the vicinity of Ludza, Balvi, and Rezekne received cell broadcast alerts on their mobile phones, warning them of a threat in airspace.