Vladimir Putin's words were true when Prime Minister Donald Tusk told a joint conference with Latvia's prime minister in Warsaw on Thursday that Russia had armed itself and gone into war mode. As he said, not only the “aggressive rhetoric” but also the decisions announced by the Russian President in this speech “must be taken seriously.”
On Thursday morning, Prime Minister Donald Tusk met with Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina, who is visiting Poland. This is the Prime Minister's second meeting with European leaders in recent days. The heads of government met face-to-face and then addressed a joint conference. It is also planned to meet the representatives of the two countries.
During their conversation, Russian President Vladimir Putin was delivering his annual address to the Russian people. In it, he warned of the risk of a nuclear conflict if NATO forces were introduced into Ukraine. He reiterated his accusation that the West wanted to destroy Russia from within and that Russia would not allow anyone to interfere in its internal affairs. He announced the strengthening of Russia's Western Military District as Finland and Sweden joined NATO.
Putin's address to the nationPAP/EPA/Maxim Shipenkov
Donald Tusk commented on the Russian leader's speech at the press conference.
Dusk: Europe must wake up
– Putin's words about Russia arming itself and practically going into war mode and the entire economy into war mode are true. This is not just aggressive rhetoric, but the decisions President Putin announced in this speech about increasing Russia's self-sufficiency, transitioning the economy to a war mode, and modernizing Russia's armed forces, all of which should be taken very seriously, he said. Polish government.
Donald Tusk and Prime Minister of Latvia Evika SilinaTVN24
“Europe needs to understand that this new arms race that Russia is imposing on the world and the Russian aggression in Ukraine should raise awareness in all European capitals,” Tusk stressed. As he put it, Europe “must finally make decisions that balance Russia's military capability so that Europe is not worse off, but better armed and prepared for worst-case scenarios than Russia.”
The Prime Minister said that this “absolutely becomes the need of the hour” and what Russia heard from Putin only confirmed “this absolute need”.
Regular meetings with foreign leaders
Donald Tusk's next meeting with European leaders in recent days will be talks with Latvia's prime minister. On Wednesday, he met Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Kar Stor, and on Tuesday in Prague he participated in talks with the prime ministers of the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary in the form of the Visegrad Group. Earlier, he also met the Prime Ministers of Sweden, Finland and Canada.
Evika Silina has been the Prime Minister of Latvia since September 2023. His government is based on a parliamentary coalition of centrist, centre-right and right-wing parties.
Main photo source: PAP/EPA/Maxim Shipenkov
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