West should work on long-term strategy of Russia containment – Latvian Foreign Minister

Krišjānis Kariņš, Latvian Foreign Minister and former Prime Minister, believes that the West needs to develop a long-term strategy to deter Russia, regardless of the outcome of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Source: European Pravda; Krišjānis Kariņš in an interview for Financial Times

Details: The Latvian foreign minister explained that Russia has an "imperialistic-fuelled ideology", which means that the threat from Moscow will remain even if the president changes or Ukraine brings back all the territories occupied by Russia.

"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 said.

Among other things, Kariņš - one of those who have expressed a desire to become the new NATO Secretary General - calls for strengthening the capacity and interoperability of the Alliance's defence industry.

"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," Krišjānis Kariņš added.

In addition, he reiterated his support for Ukraine's future accession to the North Atlantic Alliance after the end of hostilities as part of a strategy to deter Moscow.

"Russia is not only a problem in Ukraine for Ukraine, it poses a danger for all of Europe, even after the Ukrainian war," he said. "If Ukraine regains its territory, Russia will still be a threat. That means we need to adjust our thinking to the long term." Karinš summed up.

Background: The Latvian Foreign Minister has previously said that even if Ukraine liberates all of its conquered territories, Russia will continue to pose a military threat to Europe.

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