Reinsalu: If West remains passive, Russia gains an advantage in Ukraine

After meeting with Ukrainian leaders in Kyiv, Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu (Isamaa) warned that if the West does not expedite the delivery of weapons to Ukraine, Russia may take the upper hand in the conflict.
"There is a standoff now, but if the West remains passive, the balance of power could shift in favor of Russia. And our mission, which I discussed at length in Kyiv, is to convey this to our allies," said Reinsalu after his meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba.
"There are enough military systems and ammunition in allied warehouses, that if delivered promptly to Ukraine, would tip the balance of power in favor of a Ukrainian victory in the near future. This depends ultimately on the resolve and courage of the West," he said.
Reinsalu: Schröder is a Russin agent of influence
In response to former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder's statement that Russia is ready for peace talks, Reinsalu said that he views Schröder as a Russian agent, and that such signals only serve to weaken Western solidarity.
"My position is unambiguous. Schröder is Putin's agent of influence. He has received vast sums of money from the Russian regime, and he has made no secret of his pro-Russian attitude as well as of his defensive stance towards Russian imperialism over the years, so attributing impartiality to him is pointless," he said. "Russia uses diplomatic appeasement to weaken Western unity and sow confusion; this is how it should be interpreted. The best hope for Russia to return to peace is for it to cease its aggression and withdraw from Ukrainian territory."
Rainsalu said he discussed with both Zelenskyy and Kuleba how to increase pressure on Russia and what Estonia could do in order to convince the West.
"Ukraine is interested in peace, clearly. If this could be negotiated, it would be in the best interests of Ukraine. To my knowledge, however, the consensus is that Russia is not interested in genuine peace," Reinsalu said.
Reinsalu explained Russia does not hide its intention to control all of Ukraine and that we should not be fooled by the fact that conflict is now confined to a single region of Ukrainian territory, as Moscow's goal is the destruction of the entire state.
"The rhetoric of imposing a diplomatic solution is intended to deceive the West and weaken Ukraine's position," Reinsalu said.
"I'd also like to remind you that the Ukrainian government and the entire international community witnessed Russia's hypocrisy during the spring negotiations, which were, as Russia intended, useless," he added.
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Editor: Kristina Kersa