FT: Russia won’t stop in Ukraine, warns Latvian FM

Latvia's foreign minister stresses Russia will pursue new targets despite Ukraine outcome, given enduring imperialist ideology, necessitating long-term NATO containment strategy. The post FT: Russia won’t stop in Ukraine, warns Latvian FM appeared first on Euromaidan Press.

Jan 7, 2024 - 08:53
FT: Russia won’t stop in Ukraine, warns Latvian FM

Latvia’s Foreign Minister, Krišjānis Kariņš, stressed the necessity for an enduring Western strategy to counter Russia. He pointed out that Moscow’s imperialistic ideology would drive its pursuit of new targets, regardless of the outcome of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine or any leadership changes, according to Financial Times.

Russia will not stop, Russia can only be stopped. Stopping Russia in Ukraine does not mean that it is over. It simply means we will have to continue. That is what is important for NATO: that we will have to work on a long-term strategy of Russia containment,” Kariņš told FT.

Baltic states and Finland, on NATO-EU’s frontline against Russia, intensify warnings of Putin’s broader ambitions beyond Ukraine. Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania boost military spending, targeting 3% of GDP by 2027, exceeding NATO’s 2% goal, FT notes.

“Once the war ends, the war machine will start to rebuild itself. It will be looking to provoke, to make difficulties on its border. We know this. We have to make sure on the Nato side that the likelihood of any incidents is simply ruled out, by our resolve, by our investments in defence,” Kariņš said, stressing NATO’s need for enhanced defense industry capacity and interoperability.

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The post FT: Russia won’t stop in Ukraine, warns Latvian FM appeared first on Euromaidan Press.