Former Latvian President: Baltic States Not Anti-Russian

Here I briefly summarized how the history between the Latvian and Russian states has led to current anti-Russian sentiment in the Baltics. For some, it’s revenge for centuries of oppression; for others, it’s outright discrimination.

Now, the former Latvian President has weighed in on the controversy. Valdis Zatlers, President of Latvia from 2007 to 2011, spoke to the Baltic News Services Lithuania, outright denies that Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia are not “Russophobic.” Instead, he states, they will condemn any and all Russian aggression. Considering the history here, that may be understandable to err on the side of caution.

From The Baltic Times:

“We will never say that Crimea is not Ukraine’s territory,” said Zatlers. “We’ll never say that Donetsk and all that part of Ukraine is “something special” – it’s Ukraine.

“That’s the key point for sustainability in the future, and if Russia is going to attack us, we are going to retaliate immediately – in a few seconds.”

According to Zatlers, nobody has threatened a single square meter of Russia’s territory since WWII.

He compared his warnings to the relations between a bank and a client taking a mortgage. “As you go to the bank and you read the treaty you sign, you say, the bank is a robber! But if you pay on time, nothing happens,” he said.