Photos: PM Kaja Kallas meets with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz
Prime Minister Kaja Kallas and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz concentrated on Russia's military aggression in Ukraine, energy security and preparations for the NATO Madrid summit at their Monday meeting, the Estonian Government Office said.
Kallas gave Scholtz an overview of the Baltic countries' joint goals for the NATO summit in Madrid that were agreed in Riga last week.
Kallas told ERR that Germany made a series of promises that she hopes will be formalized as decisions in Madrid.
"Realizing these plans will help us strengthen regional security. We hope that Germany will support our vision – at its heart is the realization that our region needs far greater NATO presence in the air, on land and at sea," Kallas remarked.
The Estonian PM emphasized the continued need to completely isolate Russia. "The Kremlin's war on Ukraine is an attack on humanity and there can be no return to business as usual with Russia. A fundamentally different relationship with Russia needs to be confirmed on black and white on both the NATO and EU levels," Kallas added.
The premiere suggested that while Germany has made important decisions in terms of military aid for Ukraine, no one has done enough for as long as atrocities continue in Ukraine.
Kallas also stressed that the EU cannot just look on as the Ukrainian nation and people are destroyed. "We need rapid decisions. The next package of sanctions needs to cover oil and gas. Europeans have power as consumers," Kallas said.
The PM also mentioned the creation of a conditional deposit account that could help curb funding for the Russian war machine, send Russia the message that it will be paying for every house, bridge and road destroyed and save money for the reconstruction of Ukraine.
Kallas and Scholtz also discussed energy security and cooperation, especially in renewables. "Germany takes an interest in Estonian offshore wind farms, and we discussed ways of boosting their role," the Estonian prime minister said.
Kallas is also set to meet with German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht and Finance Minister Christian Lindner over video conference on Monday.
She will also be giving a speech at the Friedrich Naumann Foundation that can be caught live at 7 p.m. by following the link.
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Editor: Marcus Turovski
