Tsahkna and his Latvian and Lithuanian counterparts are visiting Washington DC, to meet with representatives and senators this week.

During his initial meetings, the minister underlined the need for Europe and the USA to show strength by assisting Ukraine and pressuring Russia. He said this would also deter other hostile powers.

"Those who are closely following the outcome of Russia's aggression include Iran, North Korea, and China. To ensure long-term global security, Europe and the United States of America must convincingly prove that they can counter hostile powers successfully. The best way to do this is to ensure Ukraine's success in the brutal war of aggression launched by Russia," Tsahkna said.

A discussion at the Heritage think tank concentrated on pressuring Russia through additional sanctions.

"Although Russian propaganda is trying to convince us of the opposite, Russia's economy is doing very badly right now. The sanctions imposed so far are working, which proves that the West has been on the right track when it comes to putting economic pressure on Russia. Now is not the time to stop, it is the time to ramp up the pressure," the foreign minister said.

He added that the most important action was to reduce Russia's revenues from the export of energy and to deter Russia's shadow fleet.

The meetings also covered using Russia's frozen assets and Estonian-USA defense cooperation.

Off to Washington with two main messages:

Estonia, Europe & the U.S. are more secure & prosperous when sticking together.

Russia must be pressured to change its goals. This can be done by strengthening sanctions & taking frozen Russian state assets into use. https://t.co/vJvLDGujI7

— Margus Tsahkna (@Tsahkna) February 4, 2025

Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Jonatan Vseviov also visited the Washington DC this week and held meetings with the transition team at the Department of Defense among others.

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