Kallas in Berlin: we need far greater NATO presence in our skies, at sea, and on land

Prime Minister Kaja Kallas briefed Chancellor Scholz on the common goals agreed by the three Baltic prime ministers in Riga last week for the NATO summit in Madrid. "Fulfilling these plans will help us strengthen regional security. We hope that Germany will support our vision - at its heart is the recognition that our region needs far greater NATO presence in the air, on land, and at sea," said Kallas.

The prime minister thanked Chancellor Scholz for Germany's leading role in ensuring the security of the Baltic states. Since 2017, Germany has been the NATO battlegroup framework nation in Lithuania and has increased its presence there to more than 900 soldiers. Participating in the Baltic Air Policing mission, Germany has also protected our skies in both Ämari and Šiauliai.

At the meeting, Prime Minister Kallas emphasised the continued need to completely isolate Russia. "The war of Kremlin on Ukraine is an attack on humanity and there can be no return to business as usual with Russia. A fundamentally different relationship with Russia needs to be confirmed on black and white at both the NATO and EU levels," Kallas noted. Germany has made important decisions in terms of military aid for Ukraine, but as long as atrocities continue to take place in Ukraine, none of us has done enough.

Kallas also stressed that the EU cannot just look on as the Ukrainian nation and people are destroyed. "We need rapid decisions. The next package of sanctions needs to cover oil and gas. Europeans have power as consumers," said Kallas. The prime minister also mentioned the creation of an escrow account that could help curb funding for the Russian war machine, send a clear signal to Russia that it will pay for every house, bridge, and road destroyed, and save money for the reconstruction of Ukraine.

Bilateral co-operation between Estonia and Germany to help Ukraine has worked well. "The field hospital donated to Ukraine as a joint project is in active use. We want to launch similar projects in cooperation with Germany," said Kallas.

Kallas and Scholtz also discussed energy security and cooperation, particularly in the area of renewable energy. "Germany takes an interest in Estonian offshore wind farms and we have discussed ways of boosting their role," said Kallas.

Prime Minister Kallas is also set to meet with the Minister of Defence Christine Lambrecht and the Minister of Finance Christian Lindner via video today in Berlin.

Kallas will also give a speech at the prestigious Friedrich Naumann Foundation, which can be watched live from 7 p.m. here: https://fb.me/e/2hW5XSgki

Photos from the meeting: https://www.flickr.com/photos/stenbockimaja/sets/72177720298372280/

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