The mayor was asked several times if he wanted Ukraine’s victory and Russia’s defeat, to which he repeatedly replied that “no one wins war” and that it is a human tragedy.
The mayor of Daugavpils – the second largest city in Latvia – Andrejs Elksnins called Crimea Russian, and also avoided calling Russia the aggressor and the only perpetrator of the war, reports Delfi.
He was asked several times if he liked Ukraine’s victory and Russia’s defeat, to which he repeatedly replied that “no one wins war” and that it is a human tragedy.
When asked who is the aggressor in this war, he said that he has already given the answers to these questions. In the sentence that is so important today to call a spade, Elksnins replied: “The war in Ukraine is clear and obvious, Russia is at war not on the territory of its own country, it is obvious.”
When asked about Crimea, the mayor said “Crimea is part of the Russian Federation.” After saying that almost the entire international community does not recognize the occupation of the peninsula, he replied that this is true, but “it is impossible to share the facts that it is with the Russian Federation, and the whole world continues to cooperate. with Russia after this.”
Answering a question about Russia’s responsibility for the killings of civilians in Bucha, the mayor said that “Russia, Ukraine and the United States are responsible for everything that happened.”
When asked to explain why he considers the victim of the aggression – Ukraine – also responsible, Elksnins answered: “Everyone is responsible for this situation, first of all diplomats – because when diplomats fail, they start arms speak. It always is. Therefore, in this situation we must talk about the loss of diplomacy.”
Andrejs Elksnins is a representative of the Saskaņa (Permit) social democratic party, which has traditionally had significant support among Russian-speaking residents of Latvia and only in the last Seimas elections in the fall of 2022 did not overcome the 5% barrier.
Recall that Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania called on the EU, together with international partners, to help Ukraine create a special tribunal to investigate the crimes of Russian aggression against Ukraine.
Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.