Tallinn. February 2. INTERFAX - Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas has said that the UK will double its military presence in the country to deter the Russian threat.
Commenting on the results of the meeting of the State Defense Council of the Republic held on Wednesday, at which deterrence measures in the Russian direction were discussed, she said that "Allies also have an important role to play here. We have been talking for a long time about strengthening the deterrence and defense capabilities of the eastern wing of NATO. The UK has said it will double its forces here."
Currently, the UK heads the NATO international combat group stationed in Estonia with 1,200 people, of which about 900 are British.
Noting that there is currently "no direct military threat to Estonia," she at the same time expressed the opinion that "Russia is behaving more aggressively than ever before, making demands on NATO, which also directly affect Estonia."
To counter such activities, she suggests strengthening diplomatic and information communication, noting that "NATO allies should send common signals."
In addition, according to her, Ukraine needs to be supported "by all possible means that Estonia has." This also applies to political support, "it is necessary to keep the issue of Ukraine at a high level among its allies, as well as to share weapons and own know-how," the Prime Minister believes.
She spoke in favor of increasing Estonia's own defense potential.
