The President of Latvia, Edgars Rinkēvičs, stated that everyone in both Ukraine and Latvia would like the war to end as soon as possible. However, the president said that this should not be peace at any cost. According to him, in that case, it would only be a respite and an opportunity to continue hostilities.
"For now, I am quite cautious about such prospects, but let’s see how the situation develops. Diplomatic activity is currently very dynamic," said Rinkēvičs.
He pointed out that the leaders of Latvia's foreign policy are united in their opinion that three principles must be upheld:
First — the territorial integrity of Ukraine must be preserved; otherwise, the aggressor will be rewarded.
Second principle — Ukraine must retain its sovereignty, meaning that Russia should not have a veto over Ukraine's membership in the EU or NATO.
Third aspect — security issues, such as the size of the Ukrainian army.
Rinkēvičs noted that although the text of the current version of the peace initiative is classified, he knows that it contains significant improvements. The president also knows that Russia believes in victory on the battlefield. Here, Rinkēvičs stated, just in case, that he himself does not believe in such a victory for Russia.
Speaking about the U.S. efforts to achieve peace in Ukraine, the President of Latvia acknowledged that the U.S. wants to move forward, but "the devil is in the details." In his opinion, if one of the three mentioned elements disappears, doubts arise about whether peace in Ukraine will be sustainable and whether it will lead to even greater problems later on.
Rinkēvičs stated that Europe needs to continue supplying Ukraine with weapons and also think about supporting the Ukrainian economy. The president reminded that the Baltic States firmly advocate for the confiscation of frozen Russian assets. However, there is no unanimity on this issue within the EU, but it is a huge amount that can cover many needs of Ukraine.
