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Latvian president: West must arm Ukraine to prevent further Russian aggression

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Latvian president: West must arm Ukraine to prevent further Russian aggression
Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics in Helsinki, Finland, on September 28, 2023. (MARKKU ULANDER/Lehtikuva/AFP via Getty Images)

Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs told the AP on Nov. 11 he believes Moscow is well prepared for a long war and that the West must keep providing Ukraine with security assistance or else Russia will be emboldened to threaten other countries in the future.

“It is important to actually fight for international peace, and peace in Europe, because if we stop Russia in Ukraine, then Russia is not going to be able to challenge other countries,” he said in New York.

Rinkēvičs suggested Russia is asserting its unexpectedly resilient economy, natural energy resources, and military production capacity “for a very long war” and intends to wage a campaign of attrition.

“I think this is very important that he fails,” Rinkēvičs said.

He cited the recent role Moscow played in hosting Hamas officials in light of the tensions in the Middle East.

“Also, I think that Iran is going to be more assertive,” he said. “Let’s also not forget about the whole Asia region, and let’s not forget about Taiwan.”

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Lance Luo

Lance Luo (Li P. Luo) is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. Previously, he worked at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Hromadske Television in Kyiv. He also spent three years in finance and strategy consulting. Mr. Luo graduated from the University of Southern California and serves as an arbitrator at FINRA.

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