Latvia's prime minister says NATO is not ready to discuss sending troops to Ukraine, and the alliance should instead focus on providing military and financial support to Kiev.
"Sending troops is not what Ukraine is really asking us for right now," Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina said in Berlin after a meeting with her German counterpart Olaf Scholz on March 27. "They are asking for other things and I believe we need to focus on those issues."
According to Ms. Silina, Western allies should focus on purchasing and transferring weapons and ammunition that Ukraine needs to deal with Russia.
"Latvia and Germany have joined the Czech initiative. We are buying ammunition from outside Europe to help Ukraine faster," the Latvian Prime Minister added. Latvia, along with the UK, aims to supply one million unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to Ukraine and is working to do so within a year.
Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina at a press conference with her German counterpart Olaf Scholz in Berlin on March 27. Photo: AFP
French President Emmanuel Macron said at the end of February that he “does not rule out the possibility of the West sending troops to Ukraine,” after a meeting of European leaders in Paris. Mr. Macron later explained that the statement did not mean that France would send troops to Ukraine in the near future. French officials confirmed that Mr. Macron wanted to stir up debate, but had no specific plans.
The United States, Germany, Britain, Poland, the Czech Republic and many other European countries have said they have no plans to send troops to Ukraine. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has also dismissed the possibility. Meanwhile, Poland said on March 8 that NATO troops were present in Ukraine, but did not specify which member countries they came from.
The Kremlin warned that the West sending troops to Ukraine would lead to the risk of an "inevitable" direct confrontation between NATO and Russia. In his State of the Nation address at the end of February, President Vladimir Putin also noted that the consequences of intervention in Russia now would be more dire than in previous stages, with the risk of nuclear war.
Nhu Tam (According to RT, Anadolu Agency )
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