On 17 November, Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna visited Washington DC, where he emphasised in testimony before a special commission of the US Congress that the West must respond to Russia’s intensifying hybrid warfare with strength and solidarity.
The Congressional hearing was chaired by Senator Roger Wicker, Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee and Chair of the Helsinki Commission. Fellow witnesses included Seth G. Jones and Peter Rough. Foreign witnesses are rarely invited to testify before Congress, and the invitation extended to Foreign Minister Tsahkna is testament to the trust placed in Estonia’s perspective and the desire to hear it.
“Like many other NATO Allies, Estonia has in recent years experienced how Russia has stepped up its shadow war against the West,” Tsahkna said in testimony before the US Helsinki Commission. He cited examples including the presence of three Russian fighter jets in Estonian airspace on 19 September, Russian naval and air activity escorting shadow fleet vessels in the Baltic Sea, acts of sabotage, GPS interference, and the removal of border markers from the Narva River.
“These incidents form part of a wider pattern in which Russia has violated NATO Allies’ airspace, carried out acts of sabotage and vandalism, arson, election interference, cyber-attacks and disinformation campaigns, and exploited migration pressure,” Tsahkna noted.
“Russian antagonism knows no borders. We expect Russia’s hybrid campaign to only increase in intensity and impudence,” Tsahkna continued. “Moreover, Russia is successfully conducting a massive reform of its armed forces. Despite all the Russian casualties in Ukraine, the size of the Russian military is growing. Any outcome in Ukraine favourable to Russia will certainly result in greater Russian military presence at NATO’s eastern front.”
According to Tsahkna, NATO has acted resolutely in countering the Russian threat, agreeing on a new defence spending target and launching the missions Eastern Sentry and Baltic Sentry.
“We will not let Ukraine succumb to Russian aggression, or let Russia dictate the terms of peace and security in Europe,” Tsahkna stressed. “Every Russian provocation must continue to be met with an even more determined and united response from the West.”
While in Washington, the Foreign Minister also met Congressman Paul Gosar of Arizona to discuss security-related issues.
Tsahkna addressed a discussion at the Atlantic Council on regional security and Russian aggression, took part in roundtables organised by the German Marshall Fund and the America First Policy Institute, and met with Ukraine’s Ambassador to the United States, Olha Stefanishyna.
Tomorrow, the Foreign Minister will travel to New York, where he will inaugurate Ernst Jaakson Way, a street section named in honour of Estonia’s distinguished diplomat Ernst Jaakson. Further information on Jaakson’s life and legacy is available on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website. In New York, Tsahkna will also meet with the Estonian community, UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Guy Bernard Ryder, and UN Under-Secretary-General and Special Envoy on Digital and Emerging Technologies Amandeep Gill.
Today’s hearing of the U.S. Helsinki Commission is available for watching.
Photos of the visit.
Additional information:
Communication Department
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