On Monday, former head of the defense forces and MEP Gen. Riho Terras (Isamaa) and security expert Meelis Oidsalu said the minister was rushed when making his choice and influenced by rumors.

Maj. Gen. Veiko-Vello Palm was one of the potential candidates for the position, and was backed by current EDF commander Gen. Martin Herem, but was not selected.

Pevkur told ERR he did not agree with Terras and Oidsalu's comments.

"The election process for the head of the Estonian Defense Forces is written in the law. The head of the Defense Forces is appointed by the government of the Republic on the proposal of the minister of defense, taking into account the position of the National Defense Committee of the Riigikogu," he said in a statement.

"People will certainly have different opinions if there is more than one good candidate for a job. However, I recall that Brig. Gen. [Andrus] Merilo received consensus support both in the National Defence Committee and in the government," Pevkur said.

The minister highlighted that the appointment of Merilo is widely supported within the defense forces.

"Opposition politician Riho Terras is either very ill-informed or deliberately campaigning for the European Parliament. It is not appropriate for a serious man to brandish fists after the fight is over when the Estonian government has not made the right choice for him personally," he added.

Speaking about Oidsalu, the former top civil servant at the Ministry of Defense, Pevkur said he should not publically distort the facts to support his personal views, especially as he is not familiar with all the details of the issue.

The minister said he did not make the decision in a hurry.

"During the election of the new head of the Defence Forces, I interviewed a very large number of members of the Defence Forces over the course of a month, including all the serving generals (with the exception of Ilmar Tamm, who has just been appointed commander of the Defence League) and, of course, members of the Riigikogu and the government," said Pevkur.

"I made my choice based on information I had gathered with full knowledge of the facts, and not on any rumors or "guidelines" from the National Defence Commission. I am convinced that Estonia has got a very good commander of the Defence Forces, which is confirmed by the broad support for Brig. Gen. Merilo," he said.

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