According to President Karis, one positive lesson learnt from the past year was the unified actions of the European Union member states in solving crises, for instance, responding to the hybrid attack devised by Lukashenka’s regime, which included organised migration pressure on the Union’s external border. “If someone believes that we can be intimidated and divided, they are mistaken. Unity is our strength and M.O. in the European Union and NATO,” said the President of the Republic.
President Karis describes NATO’s contribution to the stability and security of Europe as unique. “NATO’s open doors policy is a success story and the allies are committed to it, as recently confirmed at the Brussels summit this summer. The main objective of NATO is to ensure the protection of the allies. It does not consider any country its enemy. NATO reacts to hostile activity, not vice versa,” President Karis stressed.
The President of the Republic believes that the cooperation between NATO and Russia must be based on a meaningful dialogue, which NATO is always ready to engage in. “At the same time, no party outside the alliance has a say in questions that concern the enlargement of NATO, its defence attitudes and activities on its territory,” said President Karis and emphasised that the allies speak to Russia with one voice.
President Karis considers this year extraordinary for Estonia also for its participation as an elected member in the UN Security Council. “Unfortunately, this year saw new crises from Myanmar to Afghanistan and Belarus to Ethiopia, to name a few. All of these conflicts involve brutal violations of human rights. We must continue to draw attention to this, condemn it and ensure that we can hold the perpetrators responsible one day and bring them to justice. It is absurd that in Afghanistan, Taliban is not afraid of bombs, but education, particularly female education,” President Karis underlined. The Head of State noted that it can safely be said that Estonia did its best in the UN Security Council and expressed his pride over the work of Estonian diplomats.
According to President Karis, Estonia follows the military activity threatening Ukraine with great worry. “Further escalation of the situation would endanger the security of the whole Europe. We must do everything to mitigate such risks and contribute to a dialogue and diplomacy. We fully support Ukraine by all possible means,” the Head of State stressed.
