In a statement, the pair jointly acknowledged the continuation of the two countries' defense cooperation in protecting NATO's eastern border, assisting Ukraine, and recognized the great potential to expand cooperation in the defense industry.

Michal said the UK is Estonia's largest military cooperation partner, and cooperation must be expanded in the defense industry.

"Estonia has taken the goal of developing its domestic defense industry in order to strengthen both its defense capability and also help Ukraine in its war against Russia. Our high-tech defense industry companies have great potential to cooperate with British companies and, hopefully, we can expect good news soon," he said.

They also discussed strengthening sanctions against Russia.

Thank you, @Keir_Starmer, for our warm meeting this morning. Glad to have this committed Ally beside us.

Together with security, there is a huge potential in the collaboration between our defence industries and in our digital cooperation.

No questions in our support to Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/8HEZNe43KF

— Kristen Michal (@KristenMichalPM) December 17, 2024

"Vessels belonging to the Russian shadow fleet are used to evade sanctions. Our common task is to restrict the movement of these ships, which will also weaken Putin's war machine," the Estonian prime minister said.

Michal pointed out that there is untapped potential in the relations between the European Union and the United Kingdom.

"Estonia looks forward to strengthening EU-UK relations and pragmatic cooperation to ensure European security and support a rules-based international order. Together, we can also strengthen the cooperation between the EU and NATO. We also have similar goals in the transition to green energy," he added.

The two prime ministers met on the sidelines of the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) security summit, which was held in Tallinn on December 16-17.

The UK leads Estonia's NATO battlegroup.

UK to increase defense spending in 'due course'

On Tuesday morning, at the summit's ministerial doorstep session, Starmer told "Aktuaalne kaamera" his government is planning to raise defense spending from 2.3 percent.

However, he did not mention a specific time frame.

"We will set out a pathway to 2.5 percent in due course. It is an important commitment and today is an opportunity to discuss with our allies, not just the question of budgets, but also the question of how we cooperate, coordinate together [to] make effective use of the capabilities that we all have," he said.

Starmer has faced questions about defense spending since he took office in July. He has refused to commit to a timeline and the Ministry of Defense is currently undertaking a "strategic defense review." The report is expected in spring 2025.

The prime minister said JEF has more than proven its worth over the last decade.

President: UK, Estonia have a long history of winning battles

President Alar Karis also met with the prime minister during his visit.

The pair visited a UK Royal Navy vessel currently docked in Tallinn.

"UK & Estonia have a long history of fighting & winning battles together in defense of freedom," Karis wrote on social media.

He also thanked Starmer for deploying troops to the UK as part of the NATO battlegroup, which it leads.

"Looking forward to the UK brigade deployment exercise next year," he added, referencing the annual military exercise Spring Storm.

The UK supported Estonia in its independence war 1918-1920.

#UK & #Estonia have a long history of fighting & winning battles together in defence of freedom. Thanked PM @Keir_Starmer for the UK's Alliance & troop presence in #Estonia. Looking forward to the UK brigade deployment exercise next year. pic.twitter.com/OYo9FWVTlX

— Alar Karis (@AlarKaris) December 17, 2024

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