Estonian parlt speaker commends Turkey's efforts in helping Ukraine

TALLINN - At a meeting with the chair of the foreign affairs committee of the Turkish parliament on Tuesday, President of the Estonian parliament Juri Ratas commended Turkey's efforts in assisting Ukraine.

At a meeting with chairman of the Turkish parliament's foreign affairs committee Akif Cagatay Kilic and members of the committee, Ratas said that Estonia and Turkey have good relations and the two states are good allies in NATO. He thanked Turkey for its presence and contribution to the Baltic states and Poland, where Turkey has taken part in air policing missions.

"I also thank you for your efforts in supporting Ukraine, including by restoring the export of cereals," he said. 

The president of the Riigikogu underscored the importance of Finland and Sweden joining NATO. This matter was also discussed at a meeting of the Estonian parliament's foreign affairs committee with their Turkish colleagues. Chair of the Estonian foreign affairs committee Andres Sutt said at the meeting that Finland and Sweden joining NATO increases the security of the region, which is why it is important that the accession process should soon arrive at a result through joint effort by all parties. 

The two parliament's foreign affairs committees discussed Russia's aggression in Ukraine as well as the situation in Iran and Syria and the perspective of the European Union on its neighborhood. In addition to Sutt, the meeting was attended by members of the Estonian foreign affairs committee Maria Jufereva-Skuratovski, Eerik-Niiles Kross, Marko Mihkelson and Indrek Saar.

The delegation of the Turkish parliament's foreign affairs committee is in Estonia at the invitation of the chairman of the foreign affairs committee of the Riigikogu. A delegation of the Estonian committee visited Turkey in October.