New cold war has already started: former British ambassador to Latvia

A new cold war has already started, and the West has made a mistake by being unprepared for such a situation, said former British Ambassador to Latvia Ian Bond in an interview with the news website lsm.lv.

He believes that there is an intense propaganda war taking place right now, and added that Russia's most popular media, especially Perviy Baltiyskiy Kanal (the First Baltic Channel) television, have huge advantages in Latvia when compared to local television channels.

Bond believes that Western leaders' mistakes went back long before the current crisis, when they failed to realize that when Russian President Vladimir Putin called the collapse of the Soviet Union the "greatest catastrophe of the 20th century", he actually meant it. Western leaders were very wrong when they said that this statement was addressed only to the people of Russia who felt nostalgia for the Soviet period, Bond said.

The European Union should have realized the seriousness of the situation as early as the summer of 2013, when Russia imposed several limitations on Ukrainian exports to Russia. It was at that time that Ukraine started to make progress toward signing the Association Agreement with the EU. Ignoring these facts was a blunder, according to Bond.

When asked whether Western leaders are aware of the threats that Latvia faces as a country bordering Russia, Bond pointed out that during the past six months, Latvia has hosted a greater number of foreign officials than at any time recently.

Bond approves of Latvia's decision to increase defence spending to 2 percent of its gross domestic product. It confirms that Latvia is treating its security with sufficient seriousness, and should ensure that allies provide help if need be.