Russian dictator Vladimir Putin kept opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died in captivity last week, alive as bait to identify his supporters, according to former Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga.
In an interview with Latvian Television last night, she said that by torturing Navalny in prison for several years but keeping him alive, the Putin regime had an opportunity to draw out Navalny’s supporters so that they could potentially take to the streets. “Then they could be locked up, identified, and further put that heavy paw on any kind of protest and alternative thinking,” the former President assessed.
She thinks that Putin is ready for any crazy step and the whole world has to face the worst possible scenario. For our region, this means the need to further strengthen our military and defense capabilities, from Finland to Poland. “This whole region needs to be strengthened so that it becomes defensible and, in the event of a foolish decision by the Russian leader, NATO forces are able to use all their potential to resist and, in this case, actually defeat him.”
Asked to comment on Europe’s response to Russia’s aggression, Vike-Freiberga said it had been adequate but belated, as shown most clearly by the direction of German foreign and security policy. This may have been due to the pacifism that Germans have inherited and imbibed since the post-war era.
Source: BNS
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