Believe in our victory: Parliament speakers meet in Tartu to discuss peace for Ukraine

On Monday, parliamentary speakers from five countries and Ukraine's Ambassador to Estonia, held a public discussion in Tartu. Top of the agenda was how to achieve a just and lasting peace in Ukraine. They also discussed the potential impact of Donald Trump's return to the White House on both the war in Ukraine, and Europe more broadly.
"It would be easy for me to list the types of vehicles the Ukrainian army desperately needs, talk about financial support or humanitarian aid," said Ukrainian Ambassador to Estonian Maksym Kononenko when asked what Ukraine needs most from its allies right now.
"But I want to say something else."
"We need our allies to be true allies," the ambassador continued. "Not just friends, not just partners, but to recognize their role in this war and share responsibility with us. Our allies must clearly define the strategy and vision for ending the war. Formulas like 'we will support you for as long as it takes,' do not end wars – they only prolong them."
Kononenko was first to speak during a public discussion in the ornate surroundings of the University of Tartu's assembly hall on Monday, February 3. Deputizing for Chair of the Verkohvna Rada (Ukrainian Parliament) Ruslan Stefanchuk, the Ukrainian ambassador was joined by the parliamentary speakers of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland and Poland.

Behind them as they spoke was a memorial to students from the university, who gave their lives fighting for Estonian independence over a century ago. "Yesterday, we watched a documentary about the Tartu Peace Treaty," says Kononenko, pointing to parallels between this "lesson in history" and the events of the modern day.
"In 1919, the Estonian forces, backed by their allies, defeated Soviet Russia but lacked security guarantees. The result, was the loss of independence in 1940," he said. "Today, Estonia has corrected this mistake by joining NATO and the EU. The era of naivety is over. If Ukraine doesn't get solid security guarantees as well as means of strategic deterrence, Putin will return with an army ten times larger than in 2022 to fully occupy Ukraine."
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Lessons from history was a common theme during the discussion on Monday. Inevitably, as they sought ways to help Ukraine achieve a just and lasting peace, contemporary political developments also came to the fore.
Chief among them was Donald Trump's return to the White House and the potential impact that may have on the outcome of the war but also Europe more broadly.
"We know that Mr. Trump's style, his way of doing politics and negotiating with other countries is unorthodox," Speaker of the Finnish Parliament Jussi Halla-aho told ERR after the discussion. "But we shouldn't be too shocked about the way he speaks. Instead, we should focus on trying to find common interests with the United States," he said, adding that the U.S. remains a key ally for Europe.
"There are some legitimate concerns in the American population regarding the fairness of free trade and whether the American taxpayer has to bear too much responsibility for the defense of Europe, when Europeans themselves are not doing enough," Halla-aho added.

Like the Ukrainian ambassador during the discussion, Halla-aho, too, highlighted Europe's long-standing naivety when it comes to the threat of armed conflict.
"Unfortunately, for many years after the end of the Cold War, many European countries believed conventional military threats were a thing of the past and neglected their own national defense. Their defense contributions to NATO were too small. We outsourced our defense and its security to the United States," he explained.
The backlash to that was at least partly visible in the results of last November's U.S. presidential elections, according to the Finnish speaker.
Nevertheless, he said, "the best way to keep the Americans interested in our affairs is to show them that we ourselves are interested in our own affairs," he said. "We must invest in our own capacity and physical ability to produce weapons and ammunition. We, ourselves must do more."
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Many of Halla-aho's sentiments regarding the U.S. and Europe were echoed by Marshal of the Polish Sejm Szymon Hołownia.
When it comes to Donald Trump, Hołownia told ERR the wisest thing to do for now is "put our emotions on standstill and wait for actions, not just comment on [Trump's] declarations."
Hołownia also called for a more pro-active approach from European leaders, to demonstrate the continent's lack of dependence on the U.S. "Right now in Europe we are spending nearly €75 billion on defense. But 80 percent of this is going outside the European Union," he explained. "This should change."

"We should remember ourselves that we have constructed something absolutely amazing, because the European Union is amazing," Hołownia added. "We don't need to make Europe Great Again, because Europe is already great. So we shouldn't show any fear of what Trump will do."
In Hołownia's view, Europe is currently facing not only an economic crisis, but also one related to mentality. "We are the best place on earth to live and we have to be proud of it. Right now we have to invest €800 billion on our own development," he told ERR.
It was also clear, that for Hołownia, Ukraine is very much a part of Europe's future.
"If you are looking for what we can do to support Ukraine, then we just have to do it because it's an emergency," he said during the discussion. "But we won't be able to do this over five or ten years if we don't take care of ourselves. But not selfishly," he added. "Because only if we have the potential, we will be ready to give more."
Hołownia concluded his part of the discussion on personal note, describing a recent trip he made to Ukraine. While there, he visited sites of Russian atrocities including Bucha, which were "simply heartbreaking."
"This is a war of values," he said. "We will be with Ukraine until victory."
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It was clear that all six participants in the discussion were on the same page when it comes to supporting Ukraine. And, as Marshal of the Polish Sejm Szymon Hołownia pointed out, Europe staying united and strong in the face of Russia's continuing aggression is "Putin's nightmare."
"Our war is existential," Ukrainian Ambassador to Estonia Maksym Kononenko had said in his opening statement. "If Russia wins, Ukraine will cease to exist." But while words of support may be reassuring, it is actions that really count.
"Excessive caution, escalation management and appeasement are all strategies that have never worked with Moscow. Russia understands only the language of strength," the ambassador continued.
"We desperately need you to believe in us," he says, looking up from his notes. "Maybe in 2022, you couldn't, because you didn't know us. But now you do. You know who we are and what we are capable of. Believe in us and in our victory."
The full video of the discussion can be seen below.
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Editor: Helen Wright