Russia has a deeply rooted desire for dominance and expansion. We cannot persuade Russia to abandon its expansionist policy through rhetoric, as this expansionism in any case spreads like the coronavirus, only until such a time as it encounters firm resistance, the head of state went on.

President Karis made his remarks in his video-linked keynote speech to the Lennart Meri Conference (LMC) dinner, which follows.

When I think of security problems threatening our free world and what the future demands are, one word springs to mind: Adaptation. Adapting to a changing world.

Perhaps it's the developmental biologist in me speaking. In nature, adaptation is the cornerstone of plant and species survival. Plants create their defense mechanisms in order to adapt to changes in a hazardous environment; by growing thorns, for instance, or secreting chemicals.

Species do this both individually and as a whole. Entire ecosystems can adapt. For example, trees which together form up a forest are closely inter-twined by their roots, by which they share information and nutrients, helping each other and the forest as a whole to thrive and survive.

A single tree cannot grow tall in strong winds, but a whole forest can.

What is our western world, if it is not a collection of interconnected units: An ecosystem? An ecosystem which is certainly trying to cope with a changing era.

This change has been foisted upon us by Vladimir Putin's brutal attack on the sovereign state of Ukraine.

This was also the latest and most brazen attack on the transatlantic security order that has existed since the end of World War Two.

As we have been stuck in hibernation on Russian aggression in neighboring countries for far too long, the present-day war has also become a test, for us.

Authoritarian regimes the world over are analyzing the true strengths and/or weaknesses of the democratic world. And indeed, we are already seeing some emboldened attacks coming from the world's autocrats.

But let us not fear unrestricted discussions

Change is unfortunately happening, and our free world must adapt to this.

Any adaptation requires us to change too. First and foremost, we need to change our habitual ways of thinking.

I am pleased to see that we have made some significant progress in this arena.

While not all Western countries have had their Zeitenwende moment, many understand that a return to a pre-2022 world is out of the question.

We have managed to break down our own self-imposed taboos on arms supplies to Ukraine, and, hopefully, we will continue to break them, until the restrictions are completely lifted.

We are gradually abandoning our failed strategy of deterrence via restraint. Every day which passes in the war Russia provoked in Ukraine serves to convince us us that our fear of escalation paradoxically promotes that.

The biggest wake up call has taken place, principally in Europe. Boosting defense spending is now considered politically acceptable; even inevitable.

Across Europe, there is talk of the need to hike defense industry production capacities.

The idea of a €100 billion defense fund, which might have seemed utopian just three years ago, now seems the only viable solution. A tougher political stance towards Russia already represents a strong expression of Western principled determination.

However, calls to action must not remain just as slogans. After a bit of mental adaptation, it is now time to transform words into deeds. It is time to act, as is the clarion call of this year's Lennart Meri Conference.

The first task facing us is, of course, to help Ukraine to triumph in the war.

A lasting peace is only possible if Ukraine wins and Russian aggression is crushed. This is effectively a war of independence. Russia has imposed an unjust war on Ukraine, but no one should be able to impose an unjust peace on Ukraine.

We must move forward with both the 0.25 percent GDP [aid to Ukraine] and the Czech ammunition initiatives. Let us provide Ukraine all the weapons it needs to hit all the targets it needs to, even if these are in Russia itself.

Let our F-16 fighters and ATACMS missiles do what they are designed to do.

All new initiatives and bold ideas are welcome. Let us discuss all possibilities, including a non-combatant presence in Ukraine, if it helps free up Ukrainian troops from those tasks and allows them to focus on their primary mission: Defeating Russia on the battlefield.

Russia can also be defeated off the battlefield as well. For example, by enforcing sanctions and having zero tolerance for doing business with Russia.

Or by finding ways to inflict punishment of the leaders responsible for initiating this aggression.

Ultimately of course, Russia's defeat in Ukraine would be most evident at the point when Ukraine can join the EU and NATO, the alliances to which it belongs.

We must carry all this out because Russian defeat in Ukraine has to be unequivocal, especially to the Russian leaders themselves. Without that, we will not be able to break Russia's cycle of aggression against its neighbors.

Sadly, this cycle recurs even now, as the people of Georgia fight for their rights and freedoms on the streets of Tbilisi.

Rights and freedoms that Russia's machinations are trying to suppress, we can add.

Russia is the main wellspring of this instability. So we must address this source. The strengths or weaknesses of Russia directly affect the direction in which this and future conflicts will develop.

Our own strength is the path to peace; our weakness breeds more conflicts.

We can hope for the best regarding Russia, but we must be prepared for the worst. Russia has a visceral hunger for dominance and expansion. We cannot persuade Russia to abandon its expansionist policy just via rhetoric, as this spreads like the coronavirus, until it encounters resistance.

To contain and deter Russia and successfully defend ourselves, we need to create a strong defense capability. Only real strength is a convincing deterrent to our adversaries. We must adapt our defensive readiness, both individually and with our allies. This must be done at pace, as, unlike plants, we do not have millions of years to evolve thorns and brambles. We need tailored defense, and now.

Our strength is the path to peace, while our weakness breeds more conflicts.

NATO's collective defensive plans and Europe's defensive strategy are both a good starting point. Now it is time to add flesh to the bones. We now need to create the combat capability and power, reserves and ammunition, as well as logistics and command systems necessary to implement these plans.

The EU can potentially support this greatly by helping to increase the capacity of the European defense industry and thereby also the defense readiness of its members.

All of the above, in turn, requires more sustained and extensive financial contributions. Likely even more significant contributions than the agreed baseline 2 percent of GDP. For example, in Estonia, a serious discussion is underway about increasing spending to as high as 5 percent of GDP per year.

And naturally, Europe must bear its fair share. Currently, the share of NATO defense spending by EU countries is just 25 percent. To achieve these funding and capability development goals, Estonia is to propose its own initiative for the NATO Washington summit.

The most opportune time to reform the UN and the Security Council

The need for adaptation also applies to the international community in general.

The UN has to adapt. The UN Security Council's inability to defend the word and spirit of the UN Charter is clearly in evidence. Russia, with its power of veto, has with its attack on Ukraine violated the very opening sentence of the UN Charter's preamble.

Changing the veto practice at the Security Council may seem impossible, yet it is not, especially if one of the solutions is clearly stated in Article 27 of the UN Charter.

Now is the most opportune time to reform the UN and to reform the Security Council.

Allow me in my conclusion to return to my earlier analogy of the forest and the tree roots. For the countries of the free world, the roots which connect us are our values: Human rights and freedoms, equal rights before the law, and the right of peoples to self-determination.

Let us rally around these values to protect ourselves and strengthen our alliances. Because our values are precisely the roots that an authoritarian forest lacks.

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The Lennart Meri Conference 2024 started on Thursday and runs until Saturday afternoon.

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