'A nuclear option is suicide for Russia' warns Latvia's President Egils Levits

'Let me be clear, a nuclear option is also suicide for Russia'

It has been an astonishing few days by any standards.

After the shock of the invasion – however foreshadowed and foretold, the final decision still took many by surprise – we have witnessed the inspirational heroism of the Ukrainians and a much more dramatic international response than many, including the Russian leader himself, appear to have expected.

After years of dividing his Western opponents, Vladimir Putin has united them at a stroke.

It is an indication of the scale of the strategic disaster he has precipitated that Germany, Europe’s economic superpower, has overturned decades of relatively neutral policy on Russia to dramatically increase its defence spending and indicate it very much wishes to step up to the NATO plate.

But still, arguably most nervous of all are the Baltic states. Protected, of course, by being NATO members, they still naturally worry they might be next in the Russian leader’s sights.

So I spoke to the Latvian President to ask him what he made of that threat.