Eesti 200 chair: Idea minister acting alone in Israel-Palestine policy 'unfair'
The recent apparent shift in Estonia's stance on Israel and Palestine, when voting at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), had already been agreed on when Kaja Kallas was prime minister, Minister of Education and Research Kristina Kallas said Wednesday.
Speaking to "Otse uudistemajast," Kallas, who recently became Eesti 200 leader for a second time, called it unfair for government members or others to claim that Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna (Eesti 200) has been acting unilaterally.
"This was not unexpected in any way," Kallas said.
"This was during Kaja Kallas' administration, when the talks happened where Estonia's potential positions were also presented. Everyone in the cabinet nodded in agreement and confirmed that: 'Yes, that's how it is," Kristina Kallas said.
She added: "To say that Margus Tsahkna is acting alone here is unfair on the part of the [other] government members, as this discussion had already occurred in the cabinet."
Postimees reported LINK Wednesday that Prime Minister Kristen Michal (Reform) had summoned Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna to the government to given an account of the matter.
Minister Tsahkna, along with his non-political counterpart at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Secretary General Jonatan Vseviov, has also been summonsed to appear before the Riigikogu's Foreign Affairs Committee.
Former foreign ministers Urmas Reinsalu (Isamaa) and Marina Kaljurand (SDE) had strongly criticized the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for its apparent policy shift.
"Otse uudistemajast" host Indrek Kiisler asked Kallas if the discussion in the previous government was related to then-prime minister Kaja Kallas' aspiration to gain support from political heavyweights such as French President Emmanuel Macron, in her bid to become the EU's next High Representative for Foreign Affairs.
"I don't know what Kaja Kallas' motives were at that time for supporting it, but there were significantly more people in the government than just Kaja Kallas, and everyone actually agreed that Estonia should take a stance of that kind in UN votes," the education minister responded.
"Our agreement was that we would simply observe how the U.S. votes, and if they vote against, we wouldn't vote in favor," Kallas went on, referencing the way Estonia's votes had normally gone at the UNGA.
"That was a very clear decision. But the U.S. didn't vote against [the recent resolution]. As a result, the cabinet decided that we also had the option to vote in favor. Many of our allies voted in favor too, this wasn't just a case of Estonia acting alone," she went on.
While Kallas stated that the U.S. did not vote against an earlier UNGA resolution in the spring aimed at bolstering Palestine's status, in reality, the U.S. did vote against that resolution, held on May 10, alongside the Czech Republic, Hungary, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, and Argentina, as well as Israel itself.
The U.S. also voted against the more recent resolution adopted on September 18 at the UNGA which expressed support for the International Court of Justice (ICJ) opinion that called on Israel to end its occupation of the Gaza Strip and West Bank.
Estonia as reported voted in favor of this resolution.
Kallas further noted that Estonia's position is linked to supporting Ukraine in an increasingly complex global security situation.
"It was very clearly related to Ukraine there. The international environment has become more complicated in terms of supporting Ukraine. The Israel-Palestine conflict has made this situation much trickier, for us. Consequently, this was necessary, and I believe it was the right course of action, to seriously consider our voting methods, so that we can continue to prioritize Ukraine's victory and support for it," the minister concluded.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Aleksander Krjukov
Source: 'Otse uudistemjast,' interviewer Indrek Kiisler.