Munich Security Conference Chairman Calls Moldova And Baltic States Putin's Next Targets After Ukraine

Christoph Heusgen called for "doing everything possible" for Ukraine to receive weapons.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will not stop there in case of victory in Ukraine — then he will try to seize the former USSR states, said Chairman Of The Munich Security Conference Christoph Heusgen in an interview with the Rheinische Post.

“If Putin doesn't lose the war in Ukraine, we should expect him to get to Moldova or the Baltic states,” he said.

The Russian president has repeatedly called the collapse of the Soviet Union "the largest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century," noting that as a result, "tens of millions" of his compatriots found themselves outside Russian territory, Heusgen recalled. In his opinion, Putin wants to restore the state within the borders of the former USSR.

In this regard, Heusgen called for "doing everything possible" for Ukraine to receive the weapons and other support necessary to defend against Russian aggression and liberate its territories.

Putin, in a recent interview with American journalist Tucker Carlson, justified the invasion of Ukraine by saying that it had always been "part of Russian lands" until the Soviet authorities, "at the behest of Stalin," turned it into an "artificial state". At the same time, he said that he was not going to attack other countries — at least NATO member states.

“We have no interests either in Poland or in Latvia — nowhere. Why do we need it?"Putin said. He assured that he would not draw the country into a global war, as it "contradicts common sense", in addition, such a confrontation "will put all of humanity on the edge of destruction". However, he promised to respond in the event of a “NATO attack.”

At the same time, back in January, Putin threatened the Baltic states because of the deportation of Russian citizens. "What is happening in Latvia now, in other Baltic republics, when Russian people are just thrown abroad, you know, these are very serious things that directly affect the security of our country," he said.

The American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) noted that in this way Putin could prepare the ground for an attack on these states, as was the case with Ukraine, which he accused of "genocide" of Donbas residents. Earlier, 10 military leaders and ministers of NATO member states announced the need to prepare for war with Russia. In their opinion, the eastern flank of the alliance, which is most vulnerable due to its proximity to the aggressor country, may be the first to fall under attack.

In turn, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has repeatedly predicted the fate of Ukraine to Moldova, which plans to become an EU member state. He expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that the president of the republic Maia Sandu "is rushing into NATO", and warned her against trying to create an "anti-Russian bridgehead" on the territory of the country.