Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna is participating in the Munich Security Conference in Germany on 13–15 February. Today he spoke at several high-level panel discussions and, together with the foreign ministers of the Nordic and Baltic countries, met with Ukraine’s foreign minister.
“From the discussions in the first days of the Munich Security Conference, a number of points emerged with which one can agree. First and foremost, I agree with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who has said what brings peace closer is not dialogue with the Kremlin, but rather the economic and military exhaustion of Russia,” Tsahkna said.
“One can also agree with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has said that Putin has not changed his objectives and that it is precisely Europe which, through NATO’s PURL initiative, is currently supplying Ukraine with essential and life-saving military equipment,” the foreign minister said.
According to Tsahkna, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is also right in wanting both the United States and Europe to be strong allies.
“Beyond developing defence capabilities, Europe can demonstrate that strength through decisiveness and leadership,” Tsahkna said.
Ways to do so were also discussed at today’s meeting of the Nordic and Baltic foreign ministers with Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, where Tsahkna reaffirmed that Estonia remains firmly committed to the two-point peace plan.
“Russia is the only obstacle on the path to peace, and therefore support for Ukraine and pressure on Russia must continue,” Tsahkna said. “Europe has a number of levers at its disposal — the 20th sanctions package, the imposition of tariffs on imports from Russia and Belarus, and swift progress with European Union enlargement. All of these measures would demonstrate Europe’s resolve and increase the pressure needed to compel Russia to change course.”
Participating in a panel discussion on hybrid threats together with the Polish foreign minister and the Swedish minister for defence, Tsahkna noted that Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and hybrid attacks in Europe are part of Russia’s broader aggressive pattern, which threatens the long-term security of the entire continent.
“Russia’s hybrid warfare will not end even if Russia’s aggression against Ukraine were to end. To counter this, countries must cooperate, expose incidents and respond to them. The EU’s sanctions regime against hybrid activities is a good practical example of our response. In the broader picture, however, the most effective way to counter Russia’s aggression is to support Ukraine and pressure Russia to end the war,” Tsahkna said.
He added that closing Europe’s doors to Russian fighters is also an important element.
“Those who have fought for Russia constitute a favourable recruitment base for Russian intelligence services specifically for carrying out acts of sabotage and other hybrid attacks. It is therefore critically important for Europe’s security to deny Russian fighters access to the Schengen area,” the foreign minister said.
Yesterday, during a meeting with Philippine Foreign Secretary Theresa Lazaro, Tsahkna signed a memorandum of understanding on digital cooperation between the two countries. Today, he also held a bilateral meeting with Liechtenstein’s Foreign Minister Sabine Monauni.
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