Defense minister Mikser criticizes the government's Ukraine policies
Estonian defense minister Sven Mikser said that using Ukraine for the government's public relations purpose is inappropriate.
“The security situation in our region is more tense than ever before, since Estonia regaining its independence. Therefore, we need more than ever statesmen who have a foreign policy vision and authority - not the ones who are just good at presenting previously prepared foreign policy topics by the ministry, but who are proactive in directing the foreign policies,” Mikser wrote in Eesti Päevaleht.
Mikser said that Estonia knows where the threats and opponents of the country lie. Equally, the country knows who are Estonia's friends. Taking this into account, it is concerning that some Estonian politicians have been hostile and offensive against Finland and Finnish policies in recent weeks, Mikser said.
“In the war between Russia and Ukraine, Estonia must do all it can, to support the victim of the aggressor. We have to help Ukraine via bilateral relationship and also help shape the EU and Nato common position, in the name of helping Ukraine to survive this crisis and punish the aggressor. But at the same time, Estonian government's actions and decisions should not feel as if they were made in panic and be like a PR-campaign to show that the government is acting on Ukraine, whereas in reality it is all but a false front,” Mikser wrote.
Mikser added that the Ukraine topic certainly deserves an extraordinary cabinet meeting, but it is awkward that the last one was triggered by a Kiev visit of Juhan Parts, one of the opposition leaders and the prime ministerial candidate of IRL.
Editor: S. Tambur