Estonian formin in Washington: US, Europe need to demonstrate strength to ensure security

TALLINN - Meeting with members of the House of Representatives and senators as part of a visit to Washington DC with his Latvian and Lithuanian counterparts, Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna underlined the need for both Europe and the United States to demonstrate strength in assisting Ukraine and pressuring Russia, because it would also deter other hostile powers.

"Those who are closely following the outcome of Russia's aggression include Iran, North Korea, and China. To ensure long-term global security, Europe and the United States of America must convincingly prove that they can counter hostile powers successfully. The best way to do this is to ensure Ukraine's success in the brutal war of aggression launched by Russia," Tsahkna said according to spokespeople in Tallinn.

The discussion at the Heritage think tank focused on pressuring Russia through additional sanctions.

"Although Russian propaganda is trying to convince us of the opposite, Russia's economy is doing very badly right now. The sanctions imposed so far are working, which proves that the West has been on the right track when it comes to putting economic pressure on Russia. Now is not the time to stop, it is the time to ramp up the pressure," Tsahkna said.

He added that the most important action is to reduce Russia’s revenues from the export of energy carriers and deter Russia's shadow fleet, which allows it to circumvent sanctions and also poses a risk for the environment, and, as proven by several recent infrastructure incidents, constitutes a security threat.

The meetings also covered using Russia's frozen assets, and the central role of the defense cooperation between Estonia and the US in reinforcing the deterrence posture of Estonia and the Baltic region.

On the first day of the visit, meetings took place with Brian Mast, chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee; Keith Self, member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee; Steve Daines, chairman of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation; Gregory Meeks, ranking Democratic member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee; Gabe Amo, vice ranking Democratic member of House Committee on Foreign Affairs, and Bill Keating, member of the Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia, Energy, and the Environment.

Tsahkna is in Washington from Wednesday to Friday.

Jonatan Vseviov, secretary general of the Estonian Foreign Ministry, also visited Washington earlier this week, from Monday to Wednesday. Vseviov's program included meetings with Robert Wilkie, head of the transition team at the Department of Defense, and Lisa Kenna, acting under secretary of state for political affairs.