President Alar Karis President of Estonia. will participate in the meeting of the presidents of the Baltic states in Riga on Monday, where the focus of the discussion will be Russian aggression in Ukraine, regional security and strengthening of collective defense in NATO.
According to President Alar Karis President of Estonia. , the solution to the critical challenges facing us today lies in smooth cooperation and solidarity, because only supporting each other makes us stronger. "Cooperation between the Baltic states is more critical today than ever before. Moreover, it is a decisive factor in our resilience in the current difficult situation," said President Karis. "We understood a long time ago that the Baltics are one space in terms of security. The same applies to energy. Even the vulnerability of one country threatens us all."
According to the Estonian head of state, it is premature to talk about any kind of peace or ceasefire in Ukraine in the case of Russian aggression. "The most important thing is to give military aid to Ukraine so that the country wins this war," said President Karis. "Peace is only possible when aggression fails completely and war criminals are brought to justice."
According to President Karis, it is necessary to implement the decisions made at the Madrid summit to implement NATO's strengthened deterrence and defense posture in our region without delay, at the latest by the Vilnius summit next summer. "Collective protection is not free. We know this and we are also investing more and more in our defense," President Karis said and added that Estonia's defense spending will approach almost three percent of GDP next year. According to him, it is important that all allies fulfill their collective commitments.
At the meeting held in Riga at the invitation of Egils Levits, the president of Latvia as the current chairman of the Baltic Council of Ministers, in addition to the possibilities of helping and supporting Ukraine, desynchronization of the energy grid from the Russian electricity grid, gas supply this winter, the construction of the Baltic Rally and cooperation in the Baltic Council of Ministers in the following period, when Estonia is the chairman, will be discussed.
In the new year, the period of Estonia's presidency in the Baltic Council of Ministers begins in accordance with the usual rotation. Estonia takes over the leadership role in the Baltic cooperation format from Latvia. During the presidency, Estonia will focus on regional security, large joint energy and transport projects, dealing with climate change and the European Union's neighborhood policy.