According to Latvian Prime Minister Krijnis Kari, Ukraine’s membership in the EU and NATO can help to some extent to lessen the threat that Russia offers to both Ukraine and the rest of the West.
You can access a longer version of this interview here.
Latvia’s government has been led by Kari since the beginning of 2019. According to GDP, his nation is among the EU members that aid Ukraine the most.
Your foreign minister, Edgars Rinkvis, recently made the play on the Latin term Carthago delenda est, which means “Carthage must be destroyed,” Ruzzia delenda est. Is it common in Europe to believe that Russia should be destroyed?
You could argue that Russia must lose this conflict in many respects, I guess.
Throughout recent European history, there have been numerous imperial empires. We Latvians are aware of this. We’ve been ruled by the German, Polish, Swedish, and Russian empires, as well as the empires of the Swedes and the Poles. There is no longer a Swedish Empire. They are our allies and friends. There is no longer a German Empire. They are our allies and friend. There is no longer a Polish Empire. We have friends and allies in Poland and Lithuania.
Even now, the Russian Empire still aspires to rule. The only danger to our peace and security in Europe is this one. We must make sure that Russia’s attempt to alter the global order is unsuccessful.
Empire gave way to the nation-state in Europe. Nation-states are, nonetheless, weak on their own; however, as a whole, we are incredibly powerful. In any case, we must make sure that Ukraine’s participation increases our power.
