Türkİye, Politics, Antalya Diplomacy Forum 2022

Russia’s war on Ukraine ‘unjustified’: Latvia's defense minister

Turkiye's organizing tripartite meeting with Ukraine, Russia ‘very good,’ ‘should continue’, Pabriks says

Nazli Yuzbasoglu and Busra Nur Cakmak  | 11.03.2022 - Update : 11.03.2022
Russia’s war on Ukraine ‘unjustified’: Latvia's defense minister Minister for Defence and Deputy Prime Minister of Latvia, Artis Pabriks speaks during an interview ahead of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Antalya, Turkiye on March 11, 2022. ( Serhat Çagdas - Anadolu Agency )

ANTALYA, Turkiye

Russia's war on Ukraine is not only "a war of full scale against the Ukrainian nation, but it's also an unjustified war," the Latvian defense minister said Friday.

"It's very difficult to justify any kind of force," Artis Pabriks told Anadolu Agency in an exclusive interview on the sidelines of Antalya Diplomacy Forum (ADF), which Anadolu Agency is global communication partner.

Russia's war on Ukraine is a "catastrophe," said Pabriks adding, "We see that in the 21st century, a large country is attacking Ukraine. With every day, more and more civilians are dying, innocent people are dying just because Kremlin cannot reach its goals by military means alone."

On a tripartite meeting between Turkish, Ukrainian and Russian foreign ministers held on March 10 in Antalya, Pabriks said that "it is too early for diplomats to have success. But by itself, it's very good that Turkey organized this meeting here."

He said that Turkiye should continue to "do this" because Turkiye is a respected country both for Ukraine and Russia.

"But I would say that at this moment, Russia probably is not ready to stop the war because they put themselves in the corner and they don't know how to get out of this. And from that perspective, they will still try to punish Ukraine and kill more, hoping that by such atrocities they can force Ukrainians to give up their rights," said Pabriks.

Humanitarian situation in Ukraine

Pabriks said that people are very much sympathizing with Ukrainian civilians, including himself and he is housing Ukrainian refugees at his parents' house.

"We are giving a huge humanitarian assistance to Ukraine because we feel this war is not justifiable," said Pabriks.

"And we also gave military assistance to Ukraine and we will continue to support Ukrainians because we want peace. We want stability, and we want that Ukraine can choose its own paths on how to live in future," he added.

Russian aggression against Ukraine unified European Union

The Latvian defense minister said that "there is no one medicine against this war," adding "there must be a combination of diplomatic talks of economic pressure and sanctions on Russia, and also on military aid to Ukraine" for Ukrainians to defend their freedom and country.

"Because this country, Ukraine ... it's not an aggressive country. It's just defending what they have, their houses," said Pabriks.

Pabriks said that diplomacy has to be backed by other means, adding Russia was supported by a few countries in the UN vote, even China was abstaining.

"So, its international community which is condemning this aggression," he said.

"United Nations has a little bit difficult situation because Russia has a role to play and Russia will not condemn itself. It's very clear. NATO, in this case, is not playing a direct role in this war," said Pabriks adding NATO is supporting members like Poland and Latvia, which has border with Russia.

"Of course, if Russia is an aggressor against Ukraine, then obviously also we will strengthen our resistance. This is very clear," Pabriks said.

"But European Union actually was making extremely positive steps because Russian aggression against Ukraine has unified European Union, made us stronger," he added.

"And also those economic sanctions which we are putting as an international community towards Russia, they will be very convincing and they will not be decreased it the nearest time until that aggression stops," said Pabriks.

"Because any prerequisite solution, also diplomatic solution, as we always know is (to) stop bombing civilians and stop shooting. Then sit at the table. And then, we can talk about the withdrawal of troops in the future. It's not yet," he added.

He also said that as a country bordering Russia, they voiced concerns "about negative political developments in Moscow."

Pabriks said that Latvia is not afraid of Russia as a NATO member. "Also, Turkey is a member of NATO. And it's very clear that if Russia would like to attack one of NATO countries, it will see and face the resistance of all states. That's very clear. In this case, I'm very much also relying on the Turkish assistance," he added.

Turkiye - Latvia relations

The Latvian minister said that Turkiye and Latvia have very good relations.

"We have possibilities of very deep cooperation as far as industries also military cooperation. We know that Turkey always have been a reliable partner within NATO. And we are for Turkey, a reliable partner for NATO," said Pabriks.

"And we are also a reliable partner for Turkey as far as any Turkish interests in European Union. So, from that perspective, we trust each other," he added.

Pabriks said that Latvia and himself support Turkiye's EU bid and believe Turkiye "belongs to this union."

Pabriks also said he will meet a number of industrialists and companies, adding, "and we have a number of things which we would like to develop from both sides."

"I will not mention the projects because it's not yet ready, but we are looking into the future with big optimism."

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