Latvia can send peacekeepers to Ukraine, but there are nuances - President Rinkēvičs
Kyiv • UNN
Latvian President Rinkēvičs said he was ready to discuss sending troops to Ukraine under certain conditions. The key issues are strengthening Latvia's security and clear rules for the military's stay in Ukraine.
Latvia is ready to discuss the issue of sending a contingent of its troops to Ukraine, but several conditions must be met. This was stated by Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs in an interview with the Latvian TV channel LTV, UNN reports.
Details
According to him, first of all, there should be clarity on how Latvia's own security and defense capabilities will be strengthened if soldiers are sent. The second important issue, the politician said, is the rules for the military's stay in Ukraine.
If there are no Article 5 (NATO treaty - ed.) guarantees or something equivalent that puts our soldiers at risk - even if if someone attacks Ukrainian soldiers, we have to go to the rescue and we don't get enough support - these are debatable issues. ... I really have a feeling that we are in a somewhat theoretical situation now. I would be cautiously skeptical whether we will get to that point
He also noted that the ceasefire talks have not even begun yet, as only the United States and Russia are currently engaged in a dialogue.
“I just can't imagine how you can agree on something without Ukraine's participation and think that Ukraine will fulfill it. ... Now I have the feeling that no matter how good the US intentions were to end the war, for Russia it is just a pause to regroup and start again at some point,” the Latvian president emphasized.
Recall
The day before, Latvian Prime Minister Eвіка Silinia said that the EU should be ready to an alternative European proposal for peace in Ukraine. She also said that the EU is in a situation where it needs to be “quite practical” about the steps that Ukraine expects, including Ukraine's early accession to the EU, which is “the minimum that Europe can do.
Earlier in the day, the second round of the security and defense dialogue between Ukraine and the European Union took place in Brussels. The participants discussed military-technical partnership, defense innovations, and coordination of military assistance.
