Conflicts in Europe can be prevented only if Ukraine comes out victorious from war with Russia - Landsbergis

If Ukraine, with the help of its partners, does not come out victorious from the ongoing war, the conflicts on the European continent will not end, so for now, more "fog of war" is needed to disorient Putin and lead him to defeat in the end.

This was stated at the GLOBSEC forum in Prague by the Head of the Foreign Ministry of Lithuania, Gabrielius Landsbergis, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"There's no other way to achieve peace but to have victory. Ukraine has to come out of this conflict victorious, otherwise these sorts of conflicts will never stop in the region. (...) If we want to convince ourselves that this is a regional conflict that can be completed with a ceasefire, it won't. It is already affecting everybody globally. And if we cannot reach Ukrainian victory, the world will be different. The U.S.'s role in this will be different, as will the EU's. Ukraine's position will be different, as will the Baltic and Romanian positions. And we are now sleepwalking into this new reality without the grand vision of what kind of world we want to live in.," Landsbergis said.

He believes that at this stage, Putin can still claim victory, albeit partial. Still, he can convince his population, his government, that he got what he wanted. He definitely could have done it at least before the Kursk raid by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Kursk was the moment when this narrative first faltered for him: people in Russia are not sure that all is indeed going well for Russia.

"Why is Kursk so important? It's not just because Putin is having trouble explaining it now, but also because it creates a strategic dilemma for him. He doesn't know what to expect tomorrow, which changes his calculations," the foreign minister said. Therefore, he considers it important to create more "fog" in order to disorient the Russian leader.

At the same time, the diplomat is convinced that Europe alone is unlikely to tackle Russia. Noting that history is a bad example for planning the future, but good for explaining what is happening now, Landsbergis said he does not currently see how the European continent can be stabilized without the participation of the United States.

"Throughout the last 100 years, every time U.S. would look inwards, war breaks out in Europe. And this is the thing that keeps on happening. So our job is now, at this point, to build up ourselves, build up our muscle, get stronger, but bring back the U.S. and keep the U.S. as much as possible involved because there's a very easy explanation why it is needed, is it not just for Europe, not just for Ukraine, but for the whole society to work, for the entire global society to work,” the minister emphasized.

At the same time, he recalled that the annual defense budget of the United States and all EU countries together reach $800 billion and EUR 600 billion, respectively. The figures, in his opinion, are comparable, but Europeans have a problem in utilizing these funds: they have money, but they can't always decide how to use it and “start building up the muscle.”

As reported, the GLOBSEC forum is held in Prague from August 30 to September 1, with the participation of about 2,000 guests from more than 70 countries, including Ukraine. This is the 19th forum, for the first time being hosted by Prague.