President Karis said that in these otherwise turbulent times, defence cooperation between Estonia and Latvia was proving more effective than ever. “We have learnt to better coordinate our cooperation, to organise joint procurements and to help each other,” he said. “But we are also working closely together in other areas, creating more links in the fields of energy, transport and digital infrastructure.”
The Estonian head of state mentioned the Rail Baltic project, progress in which requires a unified voice in Brussels, as well as a new energy network between Estonia and Latvia to help mitigate the risk of the desynchronisation of Baltic electricity networks, and the offshore wind farm project ELWIND. “But there is still more we can do together to improve the connections between us and to avoid us becoming an isolated peninsula within Europe,” he added.
President Karis also spoke to President Rinkēvičs – whose visit to Estonia is his first as Latvian head of state – about Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine. “All NATO allies are unwavering in their support of the Ukrainians, which is the message that will ring out from the summit in Vilnius,” he confirmed. “We are also hoping to see Ukraine given a clear roadmap to securing its future in the alliance.” The head of state expressed his delight that Estonia and Latvia’s northern neighbour Finland would be taking part in the summit alongside them, as well as his hope that Sweden would soon join their number. “We want to take some important decisions in Vilnius that will strengthen our defence and deterrence posture, and to agree on a more ambitious target for defence spending,” he added. “We need more resources to deal with the threats and challenges arising from Russia’s barbaric war against Ukraine.”
During the meeting, President Karis also raised the issue of Russian accountability. “The political and military leaders of the country must be brought to justice for their crimes of aggression,” he insisted. He further noted that Ukraine had acted very decisively in pressing ahead with reforms aimed at clearing its way to European Union accession. “Cooperation between like-minded Member States is vital if we are to ensure that the Ukrainians see those reforms through and that the EU responds positively to Ukraine’s success,” he said.
Gallery: Marko Mumm
