"The commander of the Estonian Defence Forces presented the existing military advice on the need for additional ammunition to the new government, which attracted public interest in June. In addition, he presented the NATO force development requirements and the related policy," Taavi Karotamm, head of the EDF's media department, told ERR.

Karotamm said the discussion between the government and Merilo was constructive and meaningful, but would not go into further details.

"The details of the military advice from the commander of the Defence Forces and NATO objectives are not public," he said.

Minister of Defense Hanno Pevkur (Reform) recently told Merilo the requested €1.6 billion will not be allocated for ammunition, and only €800 million can be counted on.

To these comments, Merilo presented a forcefully worded statement and explained what it would entail. He said it would not be possible to fulfill defense plans with this level of funding.

The goal to make aggression against Estonia impossible can not be achieved, he said.

In the event of military aggression, all combat activities would take place on Estonian territory, leading to catastrophic losses, the document states.

Merilo noted that politicians must understand that with such financial constraints, the EDF lack the capabilities to mitigate these risks.

Pevkur would not comment on the situation on Friday afternoon.

Ammunition issue

The same military advice became contentious in June.

The EDF says €1.6 billion is needed to invest in deep combat so weapons behind enemy lines can be destroyed if necessary, and shift combat away from Estonian soil.

It is not known whether the advice has changed significantly after General Martin Herem stepped down and Merilo took over the role.

Herem said politicians were relying too much on NATO and the U.S. The Ministry of Defense's top official Kusti Salm resigned over the issue, citing government inaction.

Pevkur said on Monday that the new goals of NATO's military capability presented to Estonia in July mean that Estonia's defense costs should rise to 5 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) in order to fully meet them.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!