Only way to stop Putin is to win war in Ukraine — Lithuanian Foreign Minister Landsbergis

He shared his opinions in an interview with RBC-Ukraine.

"I will talk about this every time I have the opportunity: Putin will not stop until he is stopped. The only way to stop him is to win the war in Ukraine. And that's the only way to really be sure that his expansionist idea is stopped, maybe not forever, because who knows, we can't predict the future, but at least halted," Landsbergis said.

According to the Lithuanian minister, otherwise, "we will have to start the clock until the next time."

"And this is where it becomes really dangerous. It becomes really dangerous for Ukraine, but then it becomes dangerous for everyone else. It could be Moldova, Georgia, and even the Baltic states. And look, the Norwegian Chief of the General Staff says: you know, we have to be ready for a real war," the Lithuanian Foreign Minister added.

Why Europe is talking about the threat of a Russian attack

Landsbergis also said that countries that share a border and history with Russia have begun to talk about new possible threats of war amid questions about the possibility of deterring Russia and the transition of hostilities to Western territories.

"This is a new awakening. I mean, in 2022, we were shocked by the war. But the idea was that it could be contained by Ukraine," he said.

The Lithuanian minister emphasized that the fact that Ukraine was provided with the appropriate equipment to repel the aggression added to the optimism of the Russian defeat. However, now "everyone is waking up to the true reality again," raising the question of the possibility of deterring the Russian invaders.

According to the Lithuanian Foreign Minister, this question has arisen against the backdrop of "Putin's interest."

"Indeed, when you see a person like him, he is sure that he has time. He doesn't care about people. And he understands that the war is not far away. For the countries of Scandinavia, the Baltic States, Poland, Romania. These are countries where the war is right next door," he said.

Instead, according to Landsbergis, it is too early to talk about Russian aggression in countries that are farther away from Russia.

He emphasized that two months ago, almost no one said that a real war could come to NATO, and this issue caused little debate. However, this scenario is now being considered much more actively, particularly in Sweden, Poland, and Estonia.

"The German Defense Minister said: 5-7 years, we need to prepare for war. This comes from Germany. And this comes from a center-left party. If you think about it, this is a pretty strong statement. I mean, we see a shift, and we'll see where it stops," Landsbergis summarized.

• On January 27, Ukraine's Defense Minister Rustem Umerov met with Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis and proposed that he create a joint forum between Ukraine and the Baltic states on defense industry issues.