'Russia must be defeated': Latvian President urges not to fear drawing red lines for Kremlin
President of Latvia Edgars Rinkēvičs (Getty Images)
The West should not fear drawing red lines for Russia, according to the bold statement by Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs.
"We should not draw red lines for ourselves, we must draw red lines for Russia and we should not be afraid to enforce them. Ukraine must win, Russia must be defeated. Russia delenda est!" Rinkēvičs wrote.
The Latvian leader's remarks come in solidarity with French President Emmanuel Macron, who recently urged Europe to unequivocally support Ukraine against Russian aggression.
It is noteworthy that Rinkēvičs employed the phrase "Russia delenda est," echoing the famous Latin expression "Carthago delenda est," meaning "Carthage must be destroyed."
Macron's initiative
In late February, French President Emmanuel Macron suggested the possibility of NATO deploying troops to aid Ukraine. However, consensus on this matter was lacking at the time.
Macron later clarified that French troops could intervene in Ukraine in the event of a renewed Russian advance towards Kyiv or Odesa.
Several NATO countries, including Germany, Czechia, Bulgaria, Poland, Spain, and Italy opposed this idea. However, there are countries open to considering such a possibility, including Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia.
Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas supported Macron's initiative, saying that the readiness to send troops to Ukraine would send a signal to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.
