(MENAFN) Former Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins, now serving as the country's Foreign Minister, was recently pranked by Russian pranksters Vovan and Lexus, who posed as a senior African official during a video call. In the conversation, Karins admitted that European Union nations are not pleased about having to contribute financially to support Ukraine in its conflict with Russia. The prank call, which was made public on Tuesday, revealed Karins expressing the view that Western states have no choice but to invest more resources in Ukraine to sustain its fight against Russia.

During the NATO summit in Lithuania in July, Karins claimed that senior Western officials shared a unanimous perspective on Ukraine, emphasizing their determination to bear the financial burden of the conflict. He acknowledged that supporting Ukraine would incur costs for all involved nations, stating, "We are not happy about it, but we see no choice."

The pranksters had previously targeted Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas in similar videos released in the past two weeks. The Latvian Foreign Ministry confirmed that Karins had indeed been pranked.

In the conversation, Karins urged his 'African' interlocutor to distrust Moscow, characterizing the Ukraine conflict as a "colonial war." He asserted that Latvia, having liberated itself from Russian dominance, offers a unique perspective compared to former European colonial powers. Karins suggested that nations like Latvia, which experienced their own struggle for independence, should serve as messengers in certain cases, particularly when engaging with African countries.

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