The position requires Senate confirmation, and Republican control of the upper chamber should make such approval relatively easy to obtain, reports POLITICO. However, the nomination could attract more attention than usual, as Estonia, which borders Russia, is one of the European countries most vocal about the need to protect Ukraine from Russian aggression, POLITICO also noted.

I am pleased to announce the nomination of Roman Pipko to serve as the next United States Ambassador to the Republic of Estonia.

Roman was born and raised in Estonia. He has extensive experience in dealing with Foreign Governments, having represented U.S. interests in the…

— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) January 4, 2025

Former construction manager: Pipko seemed to understand Estonian

As far back as 1991, Pipko was involved in the negotiations for the renovation of the Kunda cement plant as a legal advisor to U.S. investors, Aadu Kana, then Estonian Deputy Minister of Construction and chair of the Kunda plant's board of directors, who led the Estonian delegation at that time.

Kana said that Pipko, as a member of Ronald S. Lauder's delegation, also seemed to understand Estonian.

"Roman Pipko, who was there as a lawyer – he was born in Estonia and at the start, [we] weren't aware that he could speak both Russian and Estonian, but what we talked about among our small group was clear to him – he was listening," Kana told ERR. "As a lawyer, he was very respectable, very competent and skillful. He knew what he was talking about," Kana added.

However, Lauder's company did end up taking a stake in the Kunda cement plant, with Estonia instead opting for Swiss, Norwegian, Swedish and Finnish companies as partners along with whom Kunda Nordic Cement was eventually founded , Kana said.

Current U.S. Ambassador was appointed in 2022

The current U.S. Ambassador to Estonia is George P. Kent, who arrived in Tallinn in January 2023. Kent was nominated by President Joe Biden and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on December 13, 2022.

Prior to Kent's appointment, the United States had not had an ambassador to Estonia since 2018, when Ambassador James D. Melville Jr. announced his resignation from the role in late June, citing then-President Donald Trump's controversial statements regarding NATO and European allies.

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