No sustainable peace in Ukraine is possible without US, said Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs in an interview to TV24 programme “Dienas personība”, commenting on last week’s fight between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, US President Donald Trump and US Vice-President James David Vance.
According to Rinkēvičs, there is no point to look at what happened – it is important to think how to act now and in the future. He said it was clear the two presidents have a serious difference in opinions. Latvia’s President mentioned that, at the moment, the most important thing is not to exacerbate the situation further with mutual rhetoric, but to think how to improve it with diplomacy.
“Friday’s events can be judged in different ways, but there are a number of things that are absolutely clear. We must continue to support Ukraine. Ukrainians are currently fighting for both their independence and in the broader context of peace in Europe. It is also important for us to maintain US involvement in both Europe and NATO. There can be no lasting peace without the United States,” said Rinkēvičs.
He added that Europe’s future steps are known – increase defence budgets, develop military industry, and provide support to Ukraine.
Additionally, Rinkēvičs said it is clear what Latvia needs to do – increase its defence budget, grow its armed forces, improve and develop its civil protection system.
“The world order that emerged after the end of the Cold War and the fall of the Soviet Union is over. A new one is emerging. Since Latvia is in NATO and the European Union, we are in a better situation, but without the improvement of our own and Europe’s capabilities, we risk being weak,” said the Latvian president. He said we should focus on multiple levels – Latvia’s national level, Europe’s level, and cooperation with US and support for Ukraine.
After the verbal fight in the US White House, leaders of several European countries and Australia expressed their support for Ukraine. Trump later told reporters that Zelenskyy had “overestimated his chances” and should agree to an “immediate” end to the war.
Zelenskyy later declined to apologise, saying in an interview with Fox News, “I’m not sure we did anything bad.” He acknowledged, however, that he would have liked the dispute not to take place in the presence of reporters.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called on Zelenskyy to apologise for his dispute with Trump. He also doubted that Zelenskyy wanted the war to end.