Ratas: Estonia committed to cooperation with allies, NATO development

Prime Minister Jüri Ratas (Centre) met with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Monday, with whom he discussed cooperation between Estonia and NATO as well as further steps toward strengthening the alliance's deterrence posture.
"Estonia is fully committed to preserving security and developing its defense capacity," Ratas said. "We will continue to maintain our defense spending at at least 2 percent of the GDP. This provides our defense sector with a stable basis for development, and allows us to contribute to security both in our region as well as on an international level, be it in Afghanistan, Mali or elsewhere."
This year marks both the 70th anniversary of NATO as well as 15 years since Estonia joined the alliance.
"Support for NATO has remained strong throughout this entire time, which signals that we have all done a good job ensuring the security of Estonia and all of our allies," he said.
"Over the past few years, NATO has taken several important steps in developing Europe's security," Ratas highlighted. "The organization must continue to adapt; our deterrence and defense posture must be further strengthened, and there is much work to be done to that end. Deterrence and the unity and solidarity of allies is the best way to ensure peace."
Topics discussed at the meeting also included a summit of allied leaders to be held at the end of the year in London, as well as defense cooperation between NATO and the EU.
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Editor: Aili Vahtla