RIGA - It will take "some more time" to develop a strategy for a settlement in Ukraine, Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics said while attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday.
According to Rinkevics, Ukraine was one of the key topics discussed at the Davos forum, the president's spokesman Davis Dorss told LETA.
The Latvian president said that whatever fears there may have been that Ukraine might be pressured to make concessions to Russia, the past 48 hours have shown that the new US administration understands that Russia is the main problem, not Ukraine.
Rinkevics said that there had been much discussions at the forum that peace will not be easy or quick, which is why it is necessary to keep up the pressure on Russia, both economically and politically, and continue to support Ukraine.
"The general conclusion was that we are only at the beginning of the process, that it will take some time to develop a strategy for a settlement in Ukraine. There are two principles here, which I also emphasize everywhere. The first is that there should be no negotiations on Ukraine without Ukraine, and the second is that Europe must be part of the negotiations," the Latvian president stressed.
Rinkevics noted that the World Economic Forum in Davos was marked by two major discussions. The new US administration and its impact on both geopolitics and the economy were discussed. Also at the center of the discussions was the question of what to do to resolve the situation in Ukraine already this year.
The Latvian president said that he gained a number of insights, including on the European Union (EU) and its competitiveness. According to Rinkevics, given US President Donald Trump's decision to invest in technology, impose tariffs and withdraw from the Paris climate agreement, the question is what the EU can do to make the bloc more competitive and reduce its technological as well as economic backwardness.
"In fact, these issues are also relevant in Latvia - how to cut red tape and invest in the economy. After Davos, I can say that we need to seriously review the way we work in the country, not only in terms of cutting red tape, but also how to achieve a balanced climate policy that does not hamper competitiveness," the president said.
As LETA reported, Rinkevics is attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, from Tuesday to Thursday.
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