Latvia’s public is being made well aware of an Estonian initiative to encourage Western nations to provide 0.25% of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as military support to Ukraine.
ERR’s Latvia correspondent Ragnar Kond spoke to Pauls Raudseps, a well-known journalist in that country who penned an article for independent weekly Ir, both publicizing the proposals and providing analysis.
To that end, Raudseps says the Estonian Ministry of Defense’s strategy is realistic and merits discussion.
Raudseps said: “As it seems to me, Estonia’s Ministry of Defense has succeeded in developing a vision, one which you can read and discover what needs to be done, what the outcome will be and what the time-frame is.”
“Ultimately there is an understanding in society that things had been progressing well in Ukraine. But when the Ukrainian counter-offensive did not succeed quite as hoped, many people, including in Latvia, wondered what was really going on, and what would happen next. The Estonians’ strategy however gives us a clear vision for the future,” Raudseps continued.
In Raudseps’ opinion, the strategy proposed by Estonia could be showcased further to residents of Western nations located further afield from the Russian border, as within it key explanations on understanding the situation in Ukraine could be found.
Analysis, which has been made public so far, is both positive (in the sense of ways in which Ukraine can prevail) and negative (i.e. scenarios in which Russia can lose the current war), Raudseps adds.
As for Latvia itself, as high an importance is placed on the development of the domestic defense industry, as is the case in Estonia.
Raudseps said: “The main goal as of the start of the year should be to boost as far as is possible the capacity of Western countries’ defense industries. This would both help us, and is essential for Ukraine.”
The 0.25% of GDP per annum aid to Ukraine initiative would run to 2027, as things stand. (ERR/Business World Magazine)
