Sanctions imposed on Russia are very strong but they can be even stronger - Levits

RIGA - The sanctions that have been imposed on Russia for its invasion in Ukraine are very strong but all possibilities have not been exhausted yet, President Egils Levits said on Latvian Television, commenting on the decisions taken at an emergency summit of European Union (EU) leaders on Friday morning. 

The president said that Russia must be targeted with all possible sanctions for its aggression in Ukraine and that talks about them are ongoing. "But the sanctions that have already been agreed are very strong and they will leave a negative impact on the Russian economy and military capabilities," Levits said.

The president believes that Russia's criminal regime is a threat not only to Ukraine, but also Europe and the whole world, which is why this country should be fully isolated like North Korea. 

Asked about some countries' excessive dependency on Russian energy supplies, Levits said that these countries, including Latvia, have realized their mistakes and are no looking for alternative solutions to become gain independence from Russia in the long term. 

Levits praised as courageous the demonstrations that are taking place in Russia against President Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine. "It is possible that this gamble, this war is the beginning of the end of the Putin regime, because history shows that such gambles eventually lead to the demise of such regimes. This is a history lesson and I suppose Russia will probably need this lesson," the Latvian president said.

Levits added that Latvia is currently safe because it is protected by Article 5 of the world's strongest military alliance, NATO, which stipulates that an attack on one member of the Alliance is automatically considered an attack on all its members.

As reported, on Friday, Levits will take part in an extraordinary summit of NATO' s Eastern Flank countries (Bucharest Nine) in Warsaw to discuss current security issues.