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Former president of Latvia: If aid to Ukraine is delayed, it will cost -INTERVIEW

15 March 2024 11:57 (UTC +04:00)

Former president of Latvia Egils Levits, who participated in the 11th Baku Global Forum, was interviewed by APA News Agency

- When Russia started a war in Ukraine, Western countries - democratic powers supported Ukraine. However, recently we have seen certain opinions being voiced, Western countries are already experiencing "Ukraine fatigue". How true are these ideas?

- There is a certain "fatigue", I cannot deny it. But the Western society, most of the states understand that it is better to help Ukraine now, and I would say that if this help is delayed, it will cost, because later Russia will threaten NATO territory. Therefore, only real politics can help Ukraine now. You know that there are certain shortages in the supply of weapons and ammunition. However, the EU and NATO countries have decided to deliver weapons to Ukraine sooner. The problem was that NATO was not investing enough in its military capabilities before, and now it needs to send that military capability to Ukraine. Of course, the current potential opportunities are not enough. So we are investing in military production, and I believe that supplies will accelerate significantly shortly.

- There are opinions in the West that if Russia is not stopped, the West will be the next target. To be precise, the name of the Baltic countries is even mentioned, Estonian Prime Minister Mrs. Kallas often talks about it... How real is Russia's threat to the Baltic countries, what do you think about it?

- There is a danger for all of Europe, because Russia wants to dominate all of Europe, and you know that the previous president of Russia (Medvedev-ed.) London, Paris, etc. talks about. So this is Moscow's real goal. But, of course, we are together with our allies in our defense and foreign policy. Attacking one country means attacking all NATO countries at the same time. This is the basis of our power, so I don't think Russia will single out a specific country, because Moscow knows that if that happens, it will face a collective response from NATO.