Tallinn. January 6th. INTERFAX/BNS - Estonian President Alar Karis views Russia's proposals on security guarantees as an ultimatum and does not see them as a basis for negotiations with the West.
"An ultimatum at gunpoint cannot be the basis for negotiations. However, we must move forward in dialogue, and together with NATO allies Estonia will do this next week in the NATO-Russia Council, in the OSCE and in all other formats where we can and should talk about European security. To be completely clear: blackmail in the form of a Russian ultimatum in the style of "you must fulfill all our requirements, or ..." cannot be the basis of negotiations," Karis said in an interview with the BNS news agency on Thursday.
The President does not believe that the great powers can make decisions about Estonian and European security over their heads.
"I don't see such a risk today. If at first international agreement on how to respond to Russia's complaints was easy, today the dialogue is clearly focused on those negotiation spaces where Estonia is also present at the corners or at the oval table. Constantly, on a daily basis, there is also communication with the Americans and other allies. They all have the same approach: nothing about you without you, which means that no one's safety is talked about without his participation," he said.
In his opinion, small states in the current conditions "are capable of making decisions themselves, and we are strong, we will continue to work to strengthen our defense potential and the potential of NATO, we support Ukraine, which is threatened by Russia. I also support the provision of military assistance to Ukraine with Javelin anti-tank missiles.
Karis sees no particular problem if NATO rejects Russia's proposals for security guarantees.
"I would be more concerned about what would happen if NATO accepted Russia's demands. But since such a question does not arise, at least in this I do not see any reason to worry. NATO has successfully survived one Cold War for 73 years and will survive the second or third Cold War, remaining the guarantor of the freedom and independence of its members," the President said.
