WAR NO MORE: The Estonian defense ministry said that it would not redeploy troops to Iraq, and would only participate in the NATO-led training mission. All three Baltic states have now pulled their troops out of the country, but still participate in the training mission and the war in Afghanistan.
TALLINN - The Estonian Defense Ministry has announced that it will not re-deploy an infantry platoon to Iraq, marking the final pullout of Baltic forces from the war-torn country.
Though the ESTPLA-18 infantry unit will not be deployed as planned, defense ministry representatives said three officers would continue to take part in the NATO training mission in Iraq. Similarly, both Latvia and Lithuania said at the end of last year that they would not send more troops to Iraq but would continue with the training mission.
Estonian Defense Minister Jaak Aaviksoo told the government on Jan. 22 that there were many reasons for discontinuing the mission, one of which is that Estonia failed to reach agreement with the Iraqi government on an accord concerning the status of the troops.
"According to the Riigikogu [Estonian parliament] mandate, concluding an agreement on the legal status of our soldiers was a prerequisite for the continuation of Estonia in Iraq, which is not possible in the light of the decision by the Iraqi parliament to reach an agreement satisfying both sides," the minister was reported as saying by the Baltic News Service.
Aaviksoo said that the decision not to send another platoon to Iraq was influenced by stabilization in the security situation in Iraq. He also said that the Iraqi government has clearly expressed the wish to continue bilateral defense cooperation in a non-combat form.
The defense minister will head to Iraq in the near future to participate in a ceremony that will officially end the mission of Estonian troops in the country. He will also meet with Iraq's Defense Minister, Abdul Al-Qadir Jassam, to discuss the future of defense cooperation between the countries.
On Dec. 17 the Estonian parliament voted to extend the mission for Estonian troops in Iraq until the end of 2009 on the condition that Iraq will file a corresponding request and either a troop status accord will be signed or a U.N. resolution adopted on continued foreign troop presence in Iraq.
CONTINUED COOPERATION
Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet said that the country will continue its cooperation with Iraq despite ending the military mission.
"That we aren't going on with the military mission does not mean that the fate of Iraq doesn't matter to us," Paet told journalists at a government press conference on Jan. 22.
Estonia will continue development cooperation with Iraq and it's likely that a few people from Iraq will soon be enrolled at the Estonian School for Diplomacy, he said.
Paet said the Estonian military mission in Iraq significantly boosted Estonia's political capital and indisputably marked a large investment in Estonia's security. For the defense forces, it provided valuable experience in working closely with the U.S. military, he said.
The security situation in Iraq has significantly improved over the past year, with violence and attacks on coalition troops dropping by 80 percent, Paet said.
"The security situation in Iraq was one reason why we didn't end our military mission earlier," he said.
The foreign minister said the failure to reach agreement with Iraq on the terms of continuation of the Estonian mission shows that the authorities of Iraq have become strong enough to take the helm.
Baltic troops have taken part in the mission in Iraq since 2003.
TROOP MOVEMENT
Military spokesman Peeter Tali told BNS that the ESTPLA-18 infantry platoon would be offered the possibility to continue their service in the all-professional Scouts Battalion and join the units slated for deployment in Afghanistan in November.
He said the other option for the troops was to return to the Southern Estonia-based Kuperjanov battalion.
All members of ESTPLA-18 will be offered to continue their service in the ground forces, Tali said.
The 34-strong ESTPLA-17 returned from Iraq shortly before Christmas. ESTPLA-18, which was supposed to replace it, is manned and has been ready for deployment.
The next rotation of Estonian troops going to Afghanistan has already been manned. The current Afghanistan contingent was deployed in November 2008 on a six month mission.
According to a bill approved by the Estonian government on Jan. 22, Estonia would also continue participating in the United Nations' military monitoring mission in Lebanon, Israel, Egypt and Syria with up to five defense forces personnel, spokespeople for the Estonian Defense Ministry told BNS.
All three Baltic states maintain a sizeable military presence in the NATO-led mission in Afghanistan.
