Prime Minister of Latvia: For stability in Europe, Ukraine must become NATO member
Krišjānis Kariņš, the Prime Minister of Latvia, said this before the NATO summit in Vilnius, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.
"In my opinion, it is clear that for peace and stability in Europe, Ukraine must be part of NATO," Kariņš said.
He said it was very important that "several concrete steps" will be taken in Vilnius and that "a very strong signal" will be sent to Ukrainians.
The Latvian prime minister noted that NATO countries will continue to provide Ukraine with weapons, military equipment, financial and humanitarian aid as long as it takes to win the war.
The Latvian Prime Minister noted that Riga plans to increase defense spending to 3% of GDP by 2027. At the same time, he said that the country's authorities have allocated 25,000 hectares of land for a military training ground in the southern part of Latvia for training and exercises within NATO.
Kariņš also noted that Belarus has effectively lost its independence and is a satellite of Russia. Therefore, it poses a threat to NATO's eastern flank. The Latvian prime minister noted that his country will continue to support the Belarusian democratic opposition, expressing confidence that it will win.
As reported, the NATO summit is taking place in Vilnius on July 11-12, during which Ukraine wants to receive clear security guarantees and a clear prospect of membership in the Alliance.
