Estonia PM offers no guarantees country’s troops not to deploy in Ukraine

Estonia PM offers no guarantees country’s troops not to deploy in Ukraine

Ukrinform
Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas refused to provide any guarantees that units of the Estonian Defense Forces would not be sent to Ukraine.

Kallas stressed this in an address to the country’s Parliament on March 13, ERR reports.

The main topic of the government Q&A hour was the situation around French President Emmanuel Macron's statement on the possibility of deploying foreign troops in the territory of Ukraine.

After MPs from the Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE) once again demanded guarantees that the Estonian military would not be deployed in Ukraine, Kallas said she would not be the one to make such a decision.

Read also: Presence of NATO troops in Ukraine would not violate int’l norms - Czechia’s Pavel

"I don't make such promises because circumstances might change. From your interpretation, it seems that interference could be anything. Our military aid to Ukraine may also be perceived by the Russian Federation as interference, because we really want Ukraine to win, we really want Russia to lose and return to its borders," Kallas said.

"To send soldiers somewhere beyond the borders of Estonia requires a mandate from the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia - ed.), so you can decide that yourself. Just like we sent soldiers on various missions, it requires a mandate from the Riigikogu. I can't decide this individually. The issue will not pass you by," Kallas told MPs.

Read also: Zelensky, Macron discuss results of Ukraine support conference

As reported, speaking in Paris on February 26, French President Emmanuel Macron said he did not rule out the prospect of European troops supporting Ukraine on its soil.

Western democracies need to discuss the idea of sending troops to Ukraine and stop drawing "red lines" in the matter of aid to Kyiv, said Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda.

While citing and using any materials on the Internet, links to the website ukrinform.net not lower than the first paragraph are mandatory. In addition, citing the translated materials of foreign media outlets is possible only if there is a link to the website ukrinform.net and the website of a foreign media outlet. Materials marked as "Advertisement" or with a disclaimer reading "The material has been posted in accordance with Part 3 of Article 9 of the Law of Ukraine "On Advertising" No. 270/96-VR of July 3, 1996 and the Law of Ukraine "On the Media" No. 2849-Х of March 31, 2023 and on the basis of an agreement/invoice.

© 2015-2024 Ukrinform. All rights reserved.

Website design Studio Laconica

Extended searchHide extended search
By period:
-