Mihkelson in London for meeting of parlt committee chairs from 10 countries

TALLINN – The chairman of the Riigikogu foreign affairs committee, Marko Mihkelson, will participate in a meeting of the chairs of the foreign affairs committees of the parliaments of the Baltic states, the Nordic countries, the United Kingdom and Ireland in London on Thursday and Friday, where the next steps in responding to Russia's aggression in Ukraine will be jointly discussed.

Mihkelson said according to spokespeople for the Riigikogu that both supporting Ukraine and putting pressure on Russia will be discussed at the meeting, and the threats arising from autocracies will also be spoken about more broadly.

At the meeting, former chief of the Secret Intelligence Service of the UK, Alex Younger, will deliver a report on that topic, senior associate fellow of defense and security think tank the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) Mark Galeotti will outline the threats from Russia, and professor of Oxford University Rana Mitter will give an overview of issues relating to China.

Journalist, writer and historian Anne Applebaum will also speak at the meeting. On Friday, the challenges connected with the Arctic and the polar regions will be discussed at the meeting of the chairs of the foreign affairs committees with several experts.

The chairs of the foreign affairs committees of the parliaments of the United Kingdom, Ireland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden participate in the meeting in London.