Kaljulaid convening Defense Council over Helmes' Biden remarks

President Kersti Kaljulaid is to convene the Defense Council this week after comments made by the ministers of finance and interior sowed doubt on the democratic elections of both the United States and Estonia, potentially damaging allied relations.
Kaljulaid made a statement on Sunday about the comments made by EKRE ministers Mart Helme and Martin Helme, saying she was "sad and embarrassed".
The full statement reads as follows:
"The verbal assault on the newly elected president of the United States committed by the minister of finance and the minister of the interior of Estonia today is an attack against Estonian democracy and security.
"The words of a politician have weight and today two ministers of the Republic of Estonia have decided to use the weight of their words to attack our main ally. Estonian security is based on our own defense capabilities and relations with our allies. We have created, nurtured and developed them for many long years under different governments, but today we saw that it is also possible to break and demolish them. American people elect their president without help from our ministers, but the Estonian government must stand for our relations with our allies and our security. Sadly, two members of the government have today sent out a clear message, that this relationship is not of value to them.
"Equally unacceptable is sowing doubt on the Estonian electoral system without arguments. There can only be one aim -- to undermine the trust of our own people against our country. Such behavior is a threat to our democracy.
"I have expressed my views to the prime minister and will soon also discuss it with the minister of foreign affairs and the minister of defense. Considering that the acts committed by the minister of finance and the minister of the interior have damaged our relations with our allies and have sowed doubt on the Estonian democratic elections, I will in the next few days call together the Defense Council to form a clear position in these questions.
"Humanely, however, I am sad and embarrassed."
Kaljulaid: Estonia and the United States share the same core values
Earlier in the day, Kaljulaid had congratulated Biden on winning the U.S. presidential election and said that Estonia and the United States share the same core values and a deep commitment to universal human rights.
"When I met Joe Biden in Washington last year, I had no doubt that the current US president-elect attaches great importance to all people feeling protected and taken care of in the society regardless of their origin and story. It is his unwavering belief that people are good and not evil," Kaljulaid said.
"The United States has been an important ally for Estonia previously, it has been an important ally during the current administration and will also remain as such in the future," Kaljulaid said. "Democratic values have been and will always be the basis of our relations and our cooperation. We look forward to relations between the United States and Estonia continuing the same way as they have functioned for the past 30 years - in the form of broad-based support encompassing the Congress and Senate and various world views, because our states and nations are united by the same core values and deep commitment to universal human rights."
"We will continue strengthening these relations," the president said. "We must fight together, either bilaterally or in international organizations, against climate change and for a more democratic world that respects human rights and freedoms and protects those who are vulnerable."
"My best wishes to US President-elect Joe Biden and the first woman vice president in US history, Kamala Harris, in their period of preparations and induction," Kaljulaid said.
Warm congratulations to @JoeBiden and @KamalaHarris! Estonia and the United States remain strong allies and committed partners. Looking forward to continuing the excellent Estonian-American bond. ????????????????
— Kersti Kaljulaid (@KerstiKaljulaid) November 7, 2020
Mart Helme: Joe Biden and his son corrupt characters

Minister of the Interior Mart Helme, Minister of Finance Martin Helme and MEP Jaak Madison (all EKRE) said on their TRE radio talk show on Sunday that the results of U.S. presidential elections are falsified and Joe Biden becoming president would mark America's decline.
The Conservative People's Party (EKRE) politicians said they believe there was election fraud.
"I believe there can be no question in that these election were falsified," Minister of Finance Martin Helme said. "I believe all normal people should speak up against it. There is no sense in talking about democracy or rule of law in a situation where elections can be faked so plainly, boldly and on a massive scale."
"If this works, if Trump is taken down, the U.S. Constitution will no longer be in effect," he added.
Minister of the Interior Mart Helme said that Joe Biden was elected president by the deep state. "The logic based on which the deep state operates is to smuggle in dirt bags, corrupt dirt bags than can be blackmailed. Joe Biden and Hunter Biden are corrupt characters," the interior minister said.
The hosts also talked about the possibility of civil war in America. "I had a dream before the elections of Trump walking across a field," Mart Helme described. "And then I saw the field was covered in guts and entrails. Trump passed through it. Trump will win eventually; it will happen as a result of an immense struggle, maybe even bloodshed, but justice will win in the end."
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Editor: Helen Wright