Estonian, Finnish formins discuss Finland's, Sweden's accession to NATO

TALLINN – Meeting in Tallinn on Wednesday, foreign ministers Urmas Reinsalu of Estonia and Pekka Haavisto of Finland discussed the strengthening of bilateral relations between the two countries, further support for Ukraine and the process of Finland and Sweden joining NATO.

Speaking about the security of the region, Reinsalu stressed that Ukraine's victory in the war is a security guarantee for the whole of Europe, which is why it is necessary to continue providing comprehensive strong support for Ukraine, spokespeople for the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

"Today's decision by Germany to send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine and to give other countries the opportunity to do the same is key to helping Ukraine push back the aggressor on the battlefield. Estonia's defense assistance to Ukraine has risen to more than one percent of Estonia's gross domestic product, and I call on all Western countries to increase their military support to help Ukraine win the war as quickly as possible," Reinsalu said.

The foreign ministers also discussed the next EU sanctions package for Russia and lowering the price cap for oil, because the aggressor country finances its war machine using these revenues.

"Estonia is currently working on legal solutions to find a way to use Russia's frozen assets in the reconstruction of Ukraine. We also need to ensure Russia's legal responsibility for all crimes committed in Ukraine, including the crime of aggression committed by those at the very top of the Russian regime. To this end, a special international tribunal must be set up," said Reinsalu.

Discussing developments in the process of Finland and Sweden joining NATO, Reinsalu once again assured his colleague of Estonia's strong support for Finland and Sweden becoming members of the alliance, as their membership will strengthen the security of our region as well as of the entire Euro-Atlantic area.

Speaking about bilateral cooperation, Reinsalu pointed out that several of the recommendations made in last year's Estonia-Finland future cooperation report have already been implemented, for example, in digital and in the fields of the economy and culture.