Aaviksoo: No Reason to See Russia as Enemy
Published: 07.12.2010 15:16
Jaak Aaviksoo ( Photo: Postimees/Scanpix )
Commenting on the US Tallinn Embassy cables published by Wikileaks, Minister of Defense Jaak Aaviksoo said neither Estonia nor NATO have reason to consider Russia an enemy.
Speaking on ERR radio, Aaviksoo said that drafting plans was a natural part of all defense endeavors. However, the minister joined Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Sven Mikser in calling the leaks a potential security hazard.
"Every country, not to mention alliances like NATO, works on defense planning daily. As for such defense plans in general, even their existence - not to mention their contents and political and military consultations involved in their drafting - is regarded as confidential mainly so as not to impair the defense capacity of the countries," he said.
Aaviksoo said that NATO has no enemies in today's world but that this does not mean that all dangers have disappeared. Its readiness to defend itself simply proves the fact that article five of the alliance's charter about collective defense doesn't only apply to Estonia in some formal way but is something supported through planning and excercises.