In an interview with ETV show "Impulss," Kallas said that this means both making painful decisions at the member state level and that national leaders are able to explain these decisions to their own people.

You said after your meeting with U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance that this had been a very good meeting. However, publicly, American messages toward Europe have not been particularly encouraging. What game is it that the Americans are playing?

That is something you'd have to ask them, but indeed, these messages have been highly contradictory. At the Munich Security Conference, I had many meetings with the Americans, and even those same individuals were sending different messages at different meetings. So it has all been quite confusing.

You also heard U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's speech at NATO, where, in a sense, it could be said he immediately forwent the most crucial negotiation points — at least from Ukraine's perspective. Why do you think he did that?

That's a good question, especially considering that the Americans later walked back on his position. The White House clarified that it was not, in fact, its official stance.

This probably startled them, but what it does show is that such positions are circulating within the White House or within the new U.S. administration. But it is not a great tactic to give way to the opponent's key demands even before negotiations have gotten underway.

Doesn't this type of information suggest that, in reality, we cannot trust the Americans?

The Americans remain our biggest allies, and that remains a fact. Of course, we have our disagreements, and we must resolve these. But it is also clear that Europe must do more for its own defense.

We as Estonians have been saying this for a long time now. We have backed this line, while President Trump also spoke about it when he was last in office.

So, Europeans must definitely step up to the plate and do more towards their own defense. This means making some painful decisions at the member state level—without these, it is simply impossible to invest in defense. Then these tough decisions must also be conveyed to the people by the various leaders.

The same leaders in Munich essentially reiterated the same messages that have been stated multiple times over previous years: We need to contribute more, and we need to spend more on defense. And now we are hearing that again. So why should we believe it this time?

The fact that the Americans are sending such mixed messages, I think, has been a wake-up call for many — perhaps one that was needed.

At least I got that feeling in Munich when we met with various European leaders and coordinated with foreign ministers.

I feel that there is genuinely new momentum — that we are together, we are acting, and we are capable of making things happen.

And we must not lose this momentum. I sincerely hope on behalf of all the member states that these are not just words but real actions, as the situation is extremely serious when one considers that Putin has not abandoned his objectives, either on Ukraine or on rewriting Europe's security architecture.

Let me ask you straight up — have Europeans given way to fear?

I would think so, yes, in a way, this has been a wake-up call. I don't know if it can be deemed fear, but it is certainly a moment of sobering realization that we are now in a new situation. We must deal with it, and we must act, very quickly and decisively.

President Kaljulaid once said before a meeting with Putin that it is better to be at the table than on the menu.

As of now, Estonia has not been invited to the Paris summit. The Americans also want to negotiate with the Russians and without Europeans at the table. So inevitably, the question arises — is Estonia on the menu?

Well, no, we are doing everything to ensure that Estonia is not on the menu.
It is clear that any agreement concerning Ukraine also concerns Europe, and it is simply impossible to enforce such agreements in practice without the participation of Ukrainians or Europeans.

This is also a question for the Ukrainians — if they hold their ground and refuse to accept a bad deal, then we as Europeans will stand behind them.

Has Putin managed to drive a wedge between the U.S. and Europe?

That is certainly his aim. He wants to drive a wedge not only between Americans and Europeans but also among Europeans themselves — essentially undermining the EU by engaging only with the major countries.

Putin has even said that European nations simply follow whatever the U.S. tells them to do, that they are like America's lapdogs; licking its boots, wagging their tails, and obeying its every command.

But that is not quite how it really is, and we must demonstrate our unity and strength against this narrative.

Would Europeans be ready to ensure peace in Ukraine on their own?

Talk of peacekeeping is completely premature now because there is no peace to keep. Putin has neither said nor shown any indication that he wants peace.

If the question is whether Europeans can help Ukraine without the U.S., then according to data from Ukraine's defense minister, 55 percent of all military expenditures derive from Ukraine's own budget, 25 percent comes from European member states, and 20 percent comes from the U.S.

If this ratio were reversed — 80 percent from America and 20 percent from the remainder — then I think it would be clear that the leverage would indeed be in America's hands.

Of course, 20 percent is still a significant proportion, and hopefully, the Americans will continue to play their part because Ukraine's defeat would also be a loss for the U.S. too.

And I believe that President Trump would not want to repeat the scenarios that played out in Afghanistan or Vietnam. In reality, those situations collapsed even though America was involved.

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