"Sometimes, when a visit has been canceled, we need to ask ourselves why it was canceled," Kaljulaid said. "When organizing a visit turns out to be more difficult than expected, we should ask ourselves why that is the case.

"The main issue is that when we previously spoke of Estonia, we spoke of Estonia's digital sphere; of how we have achieved our development; how we apply legislation to artificial intelligence (AI); of our startup visas; our e-residency," she highlighted. "Around 20 reporters were here yesterday, and I spent half of the meeting explaining how I feel about various hand gestures and other similar matters. It's a waste of time and reputation. It is a pity."

When the current government was in the process of being formed and its ministerial candidates had been proposed, the president and her team wanted to offer a podium to the people whom the public did not yet know.

"We'd have a chat with them here at Kadriorg, and I would have greater certainty that these people share our constitutional values, and respect all human rights and freedoms, including the freedom of the press," she recalled.

"Looking back on those two days, those discussions were constructive, and before those people left the building, they promised they were loyal to our constitutional values," the head of state continued, adding that she and her team were prepared to believe that some parties can change after leaving the opposition.

"Mart Helme said that they have experienced difficulties leaving the opposition," Kaljulaid said, referring to the current Minister of the Interior and chairman of the Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE). "I interpreted those signs as positive. We all know what happened later. And I don't think this is what we talked about back then, and that concerns me greatly."

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