Belgian prime minister names two steps that will help Europe end Putin's aggressive ambitions

Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said that European countries can work together to deprive Russian dictator Vladimir Putin of his aggressive ambitions. To do this, they need to invest in their own security and defense industry, as well as to continue effective sanctions aimed at Russian economy.

De Croo said this during a discussion on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Ukrinform reports. According to him, the first step is military readiness, so increasing defense spending is what all European countries do.

"And the second is the undermining of Russia's economic capacity. Sanctions have an impact on the Russian economy. They are extremely painful for them. In the short term, they are scraping together everything to just keep their economy going. But the medium and long-term consequences will be devastating," the politician emphasized.

Alexander De Croo noted that although Belgium borders only on friendly EU countries, it also faces threats from Russia. In particular, he mentioned Russian vessels in the North Sea that have been conducting scientific research for many years.

"They should probably already know all our fish and our catches in detail. Obviously, this is not the case. We are talking about the underwater infrastructure. In addition, we are a logistics hub for NATO, so the mindset has changed somewhat as well. There is a desire to invest in security in a broad sense, which means military spending and investment in the protection and development of our industry," the Prime Minister said.

That is why Europe and Belgium, in particular, should increase military spending, maintain sanctions, and hold countries accountable for non-compliance with these sanctions.

"If we do this, at some point the ambitions we are talking about will evaporate," De Croo said.

Previously, we wrote that Russia's ambitions are not limited to aggression against Ukraine. This was stated by the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), General Christopher Cavoli, in Davos.

As reported, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin congratulated US President-elect Donald Trump in his usual way. In particular, during his speech, he hinted at World War III and recalled the goals of the so-called SMO.

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