Prime minister welcomes Spanish NATO contribution
Prime Minister Kaja Kallas (Reform) welcomes NATO ally Spain's contribution to strengthening the security situation in the Black Sea region, adding that it will help Ukraine, not a NATO member, and the alliance also.
Speaking to Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez Tuesday, Kallas said: "Ukraine is not alone and we must support Ukrainians in all possible ways."
"It is important to continue strengthening the eastern flank of NATO, and the allies play an important role here. We await the Spaniards joining us at Ämari [air base] again, but we will also contribute more ourselves. We will allocate an additional €380 million in the coming years to strengthen our security – and this will send a clear message that we take our security very seriously," the prime minister continued, according to a government office press release.
The Russian Federation is testing the unity of NATO, the EU and the west, Kallas added, while its demands on Ukraine are likely to be followed by demands on Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, later.
"The current actions of Russia not only determine the future of Ukraine, but essentially entail the exclusion of the Baltic states from NATO," she said.
At the same time, strength is a concept which the Kremlin can grasp, she said.
Kallas and Sánchez also discussed preparations for this summer's NATO summit in Madrid.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte