Kallas: Estonia not discussing sending forces to Ukraine
Estonia is not discussing sending ground forces to Ukraine, Prime Minister Kaja Kallas (Reform) said on Tuesday, after French President Emmanuel Macron suggested this scenario could not be ruled out. However, if they were sent, they could be used to backfill or train Ukrainian troops, a researcher has suggested.
Macron said sending Western troops to Ukraine cannot be excluded as he urged European leaders to take action rather than wait for U.S. aid. But, leaders were quick to push back on the idea on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Kaja Kallas (Reform) said the issue was not discussed at a meeting on Monday with European leaders, which she attended.
"Maybe this also got lost in translation. The important thing is that everyone has understood what more we can do to help Ukraine," she told Tuesday's "Aktuaalne kaamera".
Tony Lawrence, a researcher at the International Center for Defense Studies (ICDS) in Tallinn, said Macron's statement was nothing to get excited about. This is just part of the discussion among European leaders about how to support Ukraine during a low point.
"There is no concrete proposal at the moment, there is just kind of a very general idea. So, there are a whole range of potential options, it could be anything from backfilling Ukrainian forces to allow more Ukrainians to get to the front line, it could be trainers," he said.
Lawrence said the idea could take place under bilateral agreements between different countries with Ukraine but not within NATO.
"But certainly it would be another step forward and there are risks involved in taking any step forward. But as Macron himself pointed out, we've taken risks before and they've not caused any great adverse reaction from Russia," the researcher said.
The prime minister told AK there are no discussions underway about sending Estonian forces to Ukraine.
"Those countries that are in NATO, there are certain limits to the use of troops of any kind, but, yes, bilateral agreements have been made in the past, if we think of the African missions that France has had, for example, and where different countries have also contributed. But that is not what we are discussing at the moment," she said.
Kallas said it is more important that European leaders agreed to buy ammunition from outside Europe and develop the defense industry in Ukraine.
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Editor: Merili Nael, Helen Wright
Source: Aktuaalne kaamera