Foreign minister reaffirms strong support for Ukraine and Georgia at the NATO ministerial meeting

Today 1 December, the second day of the meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Riga with their counterparts from Ukraine and Georgia covered the tense situation at Ukraine's borders and the Black Sea region, the lessons of Afghanistan and the situation on the Western Balkans.

At the joint session with the foreign ministers of Georgia and Ukraine, members of the Alliance reiterated their support for the territorial integrity of both countries and recognised their excellent cooperation with NATO, including contributing to NATO missions. Foreign Minister Liimets said that when it came to the NATO membership of Ukraine and Georgia, the Alliance's open door policy remained unchanged. "At its summit this summer, the Alliance affirmed its door remained open. This principle has not changed and no third country has any right or influence in these decisions."

At a bilateral meeting with Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, Minister Liimets reiterated Estonia's strong support for Ukraine. She also affirmed Estonia was ready to take further steps to assist Ukraine both bilaterally as well as at European Union and NATO level, and to support the reform process in Ukraine. "We are keeping Ukraine, and consequently the most important issues of our region on the agenda in NATO, the European Union and the UN. We support Ukraine's ambition of becoming a contributing participant at the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence in Tallinn."

Summarising the lessons of the Afghanistan mission, the ministers noted this experience must be taken into account when drawing up NATO's next strategic concept. After the end of the mission, the main objective of the Alliance is to reduce the terror threat coming from Afghanistan, which has been contained in recent decades thanks to the actions of Allies.

Today the foreign ministers of NATO also discussed the situation on the Western Balkans and ways of ensuring stability in the region. At a meeting with the foreign minister of Montenegro, Minister Liimets assured the countries had good defence cooperation, and reaffirmed Estonia's support for European Union enlargement.

In Riga, Foreign Minister Liimets alongside the ministers of Latvia and Lithuania also met with their French and UK colleagues, thanking them for excellent defence cooperation and a strong contribution to the region's security through NATO's enhanced Forward Presence troops stationed in Tapa.

Additional information:
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia
Communication Department
[email protected]