The information to the public about the situation on the border of Ukraine and in it currently balances on the boundary of scaring people, but this time there is neither an ideal, nor a right strategy, what to do. That was the opinion expressed by the director of the Latvian Institute of International Affairs, Andris Sprūds, to the BNN news portal.
Sprūds agreed that one of the goals of Russia was to destabilise the situation in Ukraine, harm its economy and create panic. «If there is constant talk that a war will start in Ukraine the next day, then investors are unlikely to want to invest money in the country’s economy. If this continues for a long time, then Ukraine’s market economy and prosperity will be left «to take the blow».»
«Americans [saying that the war in Ukraine was imminent] are trying to prevent the threats from turning into a real attack, bloodshed,» the political analyst evaluated.
He believes that the options are not optimal at the moment. «You have to choose between what’s bad and what’s worse. Probably, this is a bad option and raises questions about Ukraine’s economic growth, development opportunities. But at the same time, there is a possibility of a large-scale conflict with bloodshed.»
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Sprūds pointed out that the statements by US President Joe Biden were based on information acquired by secret services and that he talked deliberately about the developments proactively seeking to keep Putin from doing what he could have planned.
As to the topic of sanctions, the director of the Latvian Institute of International Affairs noted that all European countries must show solidarity in imposing sanctions, and «find the right signal that really «bites» [Russia] and shows how such action must simply not go unpunished, because it would show absolute weakness, indifference, disinterest». «In the long run, it would be bad for Europe, but first of all for Ukraine itself. Sanctions are a means of preventing a potential conflict on the territory of Ukraine, but also a tool to prevent the conflict, the «appetite» from escalating it. Therefore, European countries must first reach mutual agreement.»
«One has to remember that it is Russia that has chosen the confrontation and escalation, the potential threat of war.»
The political analyst also noted that compared to Latvia, the situation is much more unfavourable to Ukraine. «Ukrainians can only rely directly on themselves and count on some diplomatic, financial support from the West. However, they cannot rely on an attack on one country being seen as an attack on everyone else, as is the case with NATO [and Latvia],» Andris Sprūds said to the BNN.
OPINION | Sanctions, political statements and spreading fear. Latvian analyst weighs in on Ukraine situation
