NATO’s eastern flank, northern flank must not be viewed as separate - Estonian MP

  • 2022-12-07
  • LETA/BNS/TBT Staff

TALLINN - The message of Mati Raidma, head of the Estonian delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, at the assembly's Transatlantic Forum in Washington DC was that the countries around the Baltic Sea are working towards a single goal and should not be split into NATO's eastern and northern flanks.

Raidma took part in a roundtable of the heads of Nordic, Baltic, Polish, and Canadian delegations, affirming Estonia's full support to the NATO accession process of Sweden and Finland, spokespeople for the Estonian parliament said.

"We firmly believe that security and our ability to defend together our common values and democracy in the modern unpredictable world will grow stronger than they have ever been," he said, adding that the Arctic dimension will also significantly increase in prominence in the NATO security policy.

Speaking of the challenges of the common operational area, Raidma hastened to warn that dividing NATO into an eastern flank and a northern flank will not support the unity of our region.

"The NATO allies who act as guarantors of security on the Baltic Sea must not be divided into different flanks. We have a common goal and this can only be achieved if we are not part of different regional divisions," he said.

The NATO PA Transatlantic Forum is taking place in Washington DC from Monday to Wednesday to discuss key challenges of international politics and enhancing transatlantic cooperation, including a common response to Russia's war in Ukraine, continued support to Ukraine, but also the impact of the war, and strengthening NATO's deterrence and defense posture. On Monday, the heads of the Nordic and Baltic, Polish, and Canadian delegations met for a roundtable to discuss NATO developments in the Baltic and Arctic regions.

Raidma is accompanied at the NATO PA Forum by his deputy Marko Sorin, and members of the delegation Jaak Juske and Mihhail Lotman.