The more Moscow wages war in Ukraine, the stronger NATO's response will be - Karins

VILNIUS - The more Moscow wages war in Ukraine, the stronger NATO's response will be, Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins (New Unity, JV) told reporters on the second day of the alliance's summit in Vilnius.

He noted that yesterday's meeting of NATO leaders was a success, concluding that NATO is getting stronger. According to the Prime Minister, Finland's accession to NATO and Sweden's forthcoming accession to NATO as the 32nd member state make the Baltic Sea region much safer.

"The Baltic Sea will become a NATO sea. This will have a positive impact on the security of the Baltic States, which is important for Latvia. The summit decided to strengthen NATO's eastern flank," underlined Karins.

The Prime Minister underlined that the war launched by Russia in Ukraine has ensured that two more countries have joined the Alliance. He also pointed out that Russia's continuation of the war in Ukraine will force NATO to react even more strongly.

"We also discussed issues related to Ukraine. I want to underline that there is a consensus among NATO partners that we must support and continue to support Ukraine for as long as it takes - until Ukraine wins this war," the Prime Minister told reporters.

In his view, this is also a clear signal to Moscow that it is incapable of creating discord in NATO. Moscow has reinforced the commitment of NATO leaders to continue their support for Ukraine, and this will continue.

The Prime Minister noted that Ukraine's path leads to NATO and this is inevitable. Karins mentioned that on the first day of the Vilnius Summit he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, while today the first meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council will take place.

Meetings with NATO's democratic allies - South Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand - are also scheduled for today. According to Karins, it is important to develop partnerships with these countries. Yesterday also saw the adoption of new NATO defense plans, which have been adapted to the new realities and are much more concrete.