Defmins of Estonia, France discuss NATO's defense readiness

TALLINN - Estonian Minister of Defense Kalle Laanet met with French Minister of the Armed Forces Florence Parly during the latter's visit to Tallinn, the two ministers discussed NATO switching from its deterrence posture to defense readiness.

During Parly's visit on April 3 and 4, the two defense ministers discussed the security situation, strengthening of NATO's eastern flank and operational cooperation in Sahel and western Africa, spokespeople for the Ministry of Defense said.

"We're very grateful for the contribution of the French forces in Tapa and Amari. In today's security situation, NATO needs to change its posture and switch from enhanced presence to a strengthened defense posture. I am pleased to acknowledge that in this discussion, we are united with our allies," Laanet said. 

"Estonia's defense cooperation with France is important on very many levels. Joint missions are necessary for increasing the experience of our defense personnel but the cooperation is equally important for our shared security. Participating in training exercises and missions together contributes to our interoperability," he added.

The two defense ministers also discussed military support for Ukraine and acknowledged that in the current phase of the war, the most important thing is to support Ukraine with various types of weapons and to render the price of the war as high as possible for Russia through sanctions.

The French minister of the armed forces, Florence Parly, has made a significant contribution to promoting defense cooperation between Estonia and France, including by leading the coalition for operations in Mali, French contribution to the NATO battle group stationed in Estonia and to the Baltic air policing mission, deployment of units in Estonia to bolster presence, extended eFP rotation and the air policing mission having been moved to an earlier time. During her visit, Parly also met with Estonian President Alar Karis and was presented with the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana, 2nd Class.