Latvian President doesn’t rule out sending troops to Ukraine under certain conditions
Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs does not rule out sending troops to Ukraine as part of a possible peacekeeping contingent, but for this to happen, several conditions must be met, Rinkēvičs said in an interview with the Latvian television channel LTV.
First of all, there should be clarity on how Latvia's own security and defense capabilities would be strengthened in the event of sending soldiers, Rinkēvičs said. The second important question is what the rules would be for the soldiers to be in Ukraine.
"If there are no [NATO] Article 5 guarantees or something equivalent, exposing our soldiers to risk – even if in the event that someone attacks Ukrainian soldiers, we will have to go to help, and we do not receive sufficient support – these are debatable issues," said Rinkēvičs.
He added that he feels that “we are currently in a somewhat theoretical situation.” "I would be cautiously skeptical whether we will get to that point," said Rinkēvičs.
He also does not rule out the possibility that at some point Russia "has plans to test NATO" and its unity in some manner.
As reported, Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs emphasizes the need to maintain sanctions against Russia after the end of the war in Ukraine and the increase in defense spending by NATO countries. He expressed concern about Russian ambitions and propaganda, which talks about the restoration of the Russian or Soviet empire, including the Baltic countries, Poland, Finland, and noted that "from this point of view, the outcome of the war in Ukraine is of decisive importance."