Prime minister to NATO Secretary General: Alliance remains solid

NATO is and will remain a bastion of security, Prime Minister Kaja Kallas (Reform) said Tuesday. Kallas was in Brussels for a meeting with the organization's secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, ahead of next month's NATO summit.
"There is no doubt that NATO will remain the pillar of transatlantic security," Kallas said Tuesday.
"I am certain that the summit will deliver a strong message of our unity and lasting transatlantic relations," the prime minister went on.
The recent hijacking of a Ryanair airliner by Belarusian authorities and its forced landing at Minsk airport was also on the table, along with the ensuing the arrest of journalist and opposition activist Roman Protasevich.
Kallas, who was in eastern Ukraine last week, said that Russia's restlessness remained an issue of concern there as well as in relation to Belarus, and also Georgia.
"Developments in Ukraine and operations conducted on the territory of NATO allies are extremely alarming, which is why NATO must also continue supporting Russia's neighbors," Kallas said.
The upcoming NATO summit to be held in mid-June was also discussed, with the Estonian prime minister saying that her country is an active and constructive member of NATO which honors its commitment to promoting peace and international security and keeps up its two-percent-of-GDP NATO contribution, as well as deploying troops to various locations worldwide.
Conversely, the prime minister said that the presence of NATO allies on the ground and as part of the Baltic Air Policing mission were hugely appreciated, as was the work of the current secretary general in managing discussions and planning for the future – a future which, she said, required vigilance and an ability to adapt in terms of tech, climate issues and cyber security.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte