Savisaar Expands on 'Thugs' Comment
Commenting on his earlier remarks, Mayor of Tallinn and head of the Center Party Edgar Savisaar today elaborated that "thugs" are not in power in Ukraine, but helped the current cabinet to take charge.
“The current government, formed under the dictate of thugs, unfortunately lacks a mandate or even competence to hold free elections. Not to mention solving other fundamental issues facing the country,” Savisaar told the daily Postimees on Monday.
Speaking at the city government press conference today, Savisaar said the protesters in Kyiv carried “weapons that protesters should not carry in a democratic state” and “using force begets using more force and that is unacceptable," Delfi reported.
He also addressed the actions of Russia in Crimea for the first time, saying that “using force to change borders in Europe is unacceptable.”
Savisaar’s earlier comments were widely quoted by the Russian media - something that has often happened before, according to the mayor.
Several senior members of Savisaar’s Center Party distanced themselves from Savisaar’s earlier statement. Savisaar denied a possible rift within the Center Party and said his positions and those of the senior members on using force and state borders are the same.