At the heart of the meeting between President Karis and Foreign Minister Rau was the downturn in the security situation in Europe, Russia’s actions on the frontiers of Ukraine and the military exercises set to take place in Belarus.
“The tense security situation in Europe requires the reinforcement of deterrence capabilities on NATO’s eastern flank,” the Estonian head of state cautioned. “That includes increasing the number of allies on the ground in the Baltic States and Poland. The Russian military presence in Belarus for the purpose of exercises is the largest it has been since the end of the Cold War. That presents a threat not only to Ukraine, but to the security of Europe as a whole.” He added that Ukraine has Estonia’s unwavering political support and assistance.
President Karis remarked that Poland plays an important role in maintaining security in Estonia and more broadly in the region. “I greatly appreciate Poland’s contribution to reinforcing our security and to our close cooperation in NATO,” he said. “The Polish fighter jets involved in the alliance’s air-policing mission have often patrolled our air space from the bases in Ämari and Šiauliai, and the Defence Forces of both our countries have taken part in military exercises together.”
President Karis and Foreign Minister Rau also spoke about the situation on the Polish-Belarusian border. They mentioned the excellent cooperation between Estonian and Polish forces in facing down the hybrid attacks being waged by Belarus on the external border of the European Union.
The Estonian head of state congratulated Poland on and wished it all the best for its chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), which began at the start of the year.
