United Nations – Latvia Foreign Minister, warns that Russian President Vladimir Putin will try to achieve in peace conversations what he could not achieve in his war against Ukraine, weakens the United States and restore control over his smallest neighbor.
Baiba Braže spoke with Associated Press on Tuesday during a week of intense diplomacy between Europe and the United States after the voyage of President Donald Trump’s US policy with his decision as Maintain direct talks With Russia, while Ukraine excludes and its European allies from the initial discussions.
BraŽe points out that Russia, with a population of 140 million, has managed to obtain control of less than 20% of Ukraine, a population of 40 million, since Crimea seized in 2014 and launched its Large -scale invasion On February 24, 2022. Putin has not been able to weaken the United States and the NATO military alliance that leads, or expel the democratic government in kyiv.
So, when it comes to seeking peace, “I think the difficulty is with the Russians, because the Russians are those who wish to weaken the power of the United States and who want to weaken the United States in the world in general,” he said Braže
What the world is seeing, he said, is that when Putin interferes with other countries, he wants to control both the territory and the political elections of his governments. In Syria, for example, he supported the authoritarian regime of Bashar Assad and obtained military bases in the Mediterranean.
But Putin has not obtained what he wanted during the three -year war in Ukraine and “he will try to overcome peace conversations,” said Braže. “Therefore, it is important to clearly remember that perspective in any agreement that we negotiate or attack.”
She said that only American and Russian officials participated in the conversations last week in Saudi Arabia, “Europe is included” in the peace discussions due to the constant communications with the Ukrainians and the Americans. She has been in Washington three times since mid -December and said she went there later on Tuesday for conversations with legislators and administration officials.
French president Emmanuel Macron met with Trump In the White House on Monday, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer had to meet him on Thursday.
Braže emphasized that Europe’s task now is to strengthen the transatlantic alliance and develop their own military and defense industries.
Last week, Latvia announced that 4% of GDP defense spending will increase next year and continue to advance around 5%. NATO members have agreed to spend at least 2% of their GDP in defense.
“We are investing in our own capacity,” he said. “We want all Europeans to do that. That is one of the topics we are discussing. “
As the NATO, Braže, Latvia and the neighboring Baltic states of Estonia and Lithuania said, they must ensure that they are prepared for any future aggression of Russia. She said her approach is in deterrence: early warning, fast response, military capacity and political will.
The three Baltic states were occupied by Nazi Germany during World War II and fell under Soviet control after the war. Like Ukraine, they became independent countries with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Braže on Monday to the UN Security Council that “only the victory of Ukraine can guarantee lasting security and end Russia’s imperialist aggression.”
“We firmly believe that a hurried fire will not lead to sustainable peace; On the other hand, it will only be emboldened to Russia, encouraging greater expansion and putting global security at serious risk, ”he said.
Macron said he had spoken with 30 European and allied leaders, and some say they are willing to be part of the security guarantees for Ukraine in a peace agreement.
Braž said that while there have been preliminary discussions, there is still no peace process.
When there is, she said: “We will guide ourselves a lot for the needs of Ukraine.”
“For any security force, we need military guidance,” said the main diplomat of Latvia. “We need military advice. What kind of strength are there? Where? Do the troops withdraw on the Russian side of the contact line? As far as? What is the location of any security force? “
But Braž said that the most important thing is that peace must be lasting, not just a high fire where war can restart again. “Nobody wants that,” he said.
