Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs told FRANCE 24 in an interview from the Latvian capital Riga on Tuesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin is seeking to install a puppet regime in Kyiv. But, Rinkevics said, he believes such a plan "will fail", as the Kremlin doesn’t have the military capacity to occupy Ukraine and "winning over the minds of Ukrainians after what the Russians are doing is almost impossible".
The Latvian foreign minister reiterated that his government endorses Ukraine's membership in the EU and granting Kyiv candidate status.
"At this time, it is very important to send a very clear signal to those Ukrainains who are fighting for their independence and liberty that they are not alone, and that they belong to Europe," Rinkevics said.
Click on the video player to watch the full interview.
