War will end when Russia returns to its own borders, Latvian president says
Latvia’s President Egils Levits said the conflict between Russia and Ukraine can end only when Russia withdraws its troops from Ukraine and returns to its own internationally recognized borders.
“Without that, the conflict cannot end … it’s clear that the aggressor should go back, obviously,” he told CNBC’s Steve Sedgwick Tuesday.
Levits said that Russia poses a dilemma for the West because of its aggressive ideology, and that the West made a mistake in not reacting to earlier provocations by Moscow in Ukraine, with the annexation of Crimea in 2014, and nearby Georgia, which Russia invaded in 2008 in a bid to support pro-Russian separatists.
“The lack of real reaction after the Russian attack [on] Georgia in 2008 led to the next attack against Ukraine in 2014, [where there was] also a very weak reaction,” Levits said. That led to the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, he noted, adding that “we should not make this failure again, to not react.”
— Holly Ellyatt
Fears of an arms race between Russia and U.S. are ‘overblown,’ diplomat says
Fears of an arms race between the U.S. and Russia are “overblown,” the former U.S. Ambassador to Georgia, William Courtney, told CNBC Wednesday.
His comments came after Russian President Vladimir Putin pulled out of the Kremlin’s last nuclear treaty with the U.S.
“Neither the U.S. nor Russia is really interested in an arms race for nuclear weapons,” said the diplomat. Both sides have a track record of “dramatically” reducing their nuclear arms since the 1960s, he noted.
Russia appears to have started a new offensive in Ukraine, but it appears to be less intense than people expected, added Courtney. Russia is using “probing attacks” as it may not be positioned to carry out a large-scale offensive, he said.
The last year’s fighting has depleted Russia’s forces in Ukraine and many of its experienced soldiers have become casualties, Courtney added.
— Audrey Wan
Moscow bullish…
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