All kinds of support must be given to Ukraine in order to win war against Russia - Rinkevics

  • 2023-01-31
  • LETA/TBT Staff

RIGA - All kinds of support must be provided to Ukraine, so that it not only defends itself against Russia, but is also able to recover the lost territories and defeat the occupiers in the long term, Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics (New Unity) said today at a press conference after a meeting with the foreign ministers of Poland, Lithuania, and Estonia.

In Riga, Rinkevics met with Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis and Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau. The foreign ministers of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland signed a joint declaration on deepening cooperation in the region.

Rinkevics states that this agreement will expand the opportunities for cooperation and between the foreign ministries of the countries. The minister points out that Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania and Poland have common interests both in terms of providing assistance to Ukraine and in other areas, such as energy and the transport sector.

The minister emphasizes that during the meeting the possibilities of assistance to Ukraine were discussed. The officials also agreed on closer cooperation within NATO.

The ministers believe that it is important for Sweden and Finland to become NATO members at the upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius. Also, Rinkevics emphasizes that work will also be done to ensure that the relations between NATO and Ukraine acquire a new level of deeper cooperation.

The Estonian foreign minister also emphasizes that Western countries must act quickly so that Ukraine can win this war. He also believes that the isolation of Russia should be continued, and a situation where sanctions are circumvented cannot be acceptable, so it is important that everything be done so that there are as few opportunities as possible for the circumvention of sanctions.

"The heart of this monster is the economy, and we haven't hurt it enough," the Estonian foreign minister emphasizes, adding that additional price ceilings could be set for Russian oil products.