Karis: Poland is also protecting Estonia's borders

President of Estonia Alar Karis expressed solidarity with Poland on Monday after a crisis at the Polish-Belarusian border. He said Poland is protecting the EU's border and, therefore, Estonia's too.

Karis spoke with President of Poland Andrzej Duda on Monday after hundreds of migrants were led to the Polish-Belarusian by Belarus' security guards, an escalation of events that has seen thousands of mostly middle eastern migrants cross the EU's eastern border since the summer.

"We are in solidarity with Poland and understand that by protecting the EU's and NATO's external borders, Poland is also protecting our borders. We must continue our efforts with all allies to stop further escalation. Using illegal migration as a political tool is unacceptable," Karis wrote on social media.  

Duda thanked Karis, along with the presidents of Lithuania, Georgia, Latvia and Ukraine, for their support on Monday evening.

On Monday, Prime Minister Kaja Kallas (Reform) also said Estonia stands with Poland.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs called for more sanctions on Belarus. "[The] EU needs to reinforce its external borders as well as speed up work on sanctions towards [the] BY [Belarus] regime," a spokesperson wrote on Twitter.

Foreign minister Eva-Maria Liimets (Center) told ETV's current affairs show "Aktuaalne kaamera" she will raise the issue at the United Nations Security Council.

EU officials, including Estonians, hold the Minsk regime responsible for facilitating and enabling irregular migration, calling it "hybrid aggression" against the European Union.

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Editor: Helen Wright

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