Russia may start aggression against the Baltic States in the future if it perceives the outcome of the war in Ukraine as its victory, Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs said in an interview with Suspilne in response to the statement of Oleksandr Lytvynenko, the head of Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service, that Russia plans to prepare for future aggression against the Baltic States.
Judging by what Russian propaganda and some Russian officials say, Russia dreams of restoring the Russian Empire regarding the Baltic States, Moldova or Kazakhstan, and Finland, Rinkēvičs added.
“They don’t talk about the Soviet Union because they dream about the Russian Empire of the 19th century,” the president of Latvia said.
NATO is doing everything possible to prepare, the president added. In particular, there were decisions to increase the number of troops at the Alliance summits in Madrid and Vilnius.
“For the moment, we see that this will be a strategic goal of Russia, if they believe that they have won in Ukraine. They don’t need to win, but they will think that they have won, and then there will probably be a temptation to test the strength of NATO. But that is why we are doing everything possible to prepare,” Rinkēvičs said.
Allies have learned a lot from Ukraine’s experience, and, currently, Latvia has time to strengthen NATO’s presence and defense, Rinkēvičs concluded.
