Ambassador in Tel Aviv: Estonian embassy not to be moved to Jerusalem

In an interview with daily Postimees' Ainar Ruussaar, the Estonian ambassador to Israel, Sulev Kannike, said that his embassy won't be moved to Jerusalem. Kannike's comment comes as no surprise, seeing as the question whether or not to move it has been a non-issue in Estonia both politically and in the media.
"There's the well-known saying that international law is the nuclear weapon of the small state. As a diplomat, I can say that from the perspective of international law and as a member state of the European Union we don't have much flexibility concerning the issue," Kannike said.
The ambassador added that concerning diplomatic relations with Israel, it matters a great deal who one is associated with. "It depends on the hat you put on. The hat of the European Union isn't always as important here as it may be elsewhere in the world, even as far away as Latin America. Here, waving the flag of the EU may get you results in some circles, but provoke a standoffish attitude in another," Kannike said.
Apart from comments on the US embassy's moving to Jerusalem, the question hasn't come up in Estonia, neither in the form of a political debate nor as an issue that would have gained broader attention in the media. Diplomatically as well as in terms of its foreign policy, Estonia has followed the course of the EU in the matter of the Israeli capital.
Editor: Dario Cavegn