Last time we met in Tallinn I said that Ukraine has proved to the world it can win this war, with the transatlantic family strongly next to it. And I am still ready to repeat this message, but the situation at the front today is more tense than we hoped two years ago.
Germany's strong support for Ukraine, especially in air defence, is crucial at this critical time, as well as the recent defence pledges from the United States. Estonia has also recently sent another package of military aid to Ukraine, including ammunition, they need most on the battlefield. However, the free world must demonstrate its resolve to counter Russian aggression. Currently, the aggressor is holding every single person in Ukraine at gunpoint. This fate could one day befall the rest of Europe unless we choose to act and prevent it. History shows that Russia can be defeated. Our goal must be Ukraine’s victory, which is also pivotal for the future of Europe. Countries in our region understand this very well.
Ukraine needs both our swift military aid and long-term support. I am glad to see that the Estonian initiative to allocate at least 0.25% of our GDP to military aid over the next few years is gaining support among other countries. We must also continue to strengthen sanctions and move forward with adopting legal acts to use Russia’s windfall profits. And we still need to find a way to employ the frozen assets for the recovery of Ukraine.
Dear friends,
Less than a week ago we celebrated 20 years since Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and seven more countries joined the European Union. Membership in the EU and NATO is the cornerstone of our security and prosperity. Our accession has been a success story. It now allows us to strongly advocate for new enlargement and help other countries on their way to join.
We hope to see the next steps in Ukraine and Moldova EU accession negotiations taken already before July. And the NATO Summit in Washington must send a clear signal of continued support to Ukraine. These steps are in our common interests as they reduce the grey zones of instability in Europe.
We must also strengthen European defence readiness and boost our defence industry. Russia is prepared for a long confrontation and so must we. For that we need to increase our defence budgets. Estonia is now spending more than 3.2% of its GDP on defence. We must also look for quick solutions to do more together at the EU level. And I am glad to say, that last week Estonian government supported my proposal to create 50 million euros defence industry fund which would accelerate the high-tech development of this sector. I hope that this will become a good example for others to follow, and that the intensifying cooperation between Estonian and German defence companies will also benefit from this initiative.
We are all well aware of the shadow war Russia is waging against our societies. I am pleased that as NATO Allies we are collectively expressing our concerns about these harmful actions and are prepared to address them together. We need to make it clear to the Kremlin that we are aware of their methods; we will expose them, and these Russian tactics will have consequences.
Together, we are stronger—militarily, economically, and in our efforts to counter destabilizing activities.
Thank you!
