Alustuseks tahaksin tänada Belgia peaministrit Eestisse tulemise eest. Belgia on meie väga hea ja tugev liitlane ning partner. Seda ilmestab suurepäraselt asjaolu, et oleme täna just siin Ämaris. Belgia hävitajad olid 2004. aastal esimesed, kes NATO Balti õhuturbe missiooni raames meie õhuruumi turvama hakkasid. Nüüd on nad juba kolmandat korda Ämaris ja olen väga tänulik Belgiale tugeva kaitsekoostöö ning väga nähtava rolli eest meie turvalisuse tagamisel.
NATO hävitajad meie taevas on selge signaal meie ja liitlaste ühisest heidutusest. Otsus ühiseks kaitsekoostööks on olnud õige ja niisama õige on olnud suund NATO kaitse- ja heidutushoiaku pidevaks tugevdamiseks meie regioonis. Idanaabri sõjalised ähvardused ja manöövrid veenavad meid, et on aeg oma seniseid plaane kiirendada.
Dear Alexander, dear journalists,
Thank you for coming to Estonia – it is an expression of true friendship. Estonia and Belgium are long-term Allies and very good partners in pursuing common goals and maintaining prosperity and security in Europe.
The reason why we are here in Ämari airbase is no coincidence: the Belgian F-16 fighters are securing our airspace as we saw. We are very grateful to Belgium that you have effortlessly contributed to Estonian and in fact to European security. Belgian pilots were the first to protect Baltic skies back in 2004. Now they are here in Ämari already for the third time.
Today, we had a very thorough discussion and exchange of ideas with Prime Minister De Croo. The security situation in the region and particularly around Ukraine is tense. Russia has now deployed well over 100,000 troops with enabling capabilities, including medical units, command and control, and logistics. 30,000 Russian troops are deployed in Belarus: the largest build-up there since the Cold War. As the Secretary-General of NATO said: „These deployments are not justified, not transparent, and very close to NATO borders.“
Let’s be clear: there are no signs of de-escalation from the Russian Federation, so we must continue to deter Russia from further aggression. And we will not compromise on core principles, including the right of each nation to choose its own path. Genuine dialogue cannot be held at gunpoint. We – as Allies – must have strategic patience, we must stand firm and united. Any failure in this would send an encouraging signal to Russia and could lead to similar strong-arm tactics elsewhere.
Ukraine has been in war already for 8 years. It needs our support - in diplomacy, economy and defence. That is why Estonia gives defensive military aid and expertise to help Ukrainians to defend themselves and fight the aggression. We are also developing severe sanctions in the EU and with partners including the US and the UK to put into swift use in case Putin decides to expand his aggression against Ukraine. This will inevitably have an economic burden also on us and we are ready to bear it.
Recent events confirm that we also need to invest more into our own defence. Just last month, Estonia decided to invest an additional 380 million euros to the country’s independent defence capabilities over the next four years. This will accompany our current defence budget that makes up 2,3% of the Estonian GDP. We are leaving no base uncovered to ensure our security – given our geography and history, this is an existential question for us.
We also need to speed up the bolstering of NATO’s defence and deterrence posture in the Baltic Sea region. We have seen new commitments by our Allies to further strengthen our defence. The US has made important steps to increase its presence on NATO’s eastern flank and the UK is reinforcing its battlegroup in Estonia. These decisions are a clear demonstration of commitment to European defence and we are thankful for this cooperation.
Our unity lies in strength. We must stand firm against attempts by Russia to divide us. Nothing is as clear a sign of our deep friendship as Belgium’s presence here in Ämari and your commitment to working with us to help to secure the Baltic Sea region. We are also grateful for your participation in the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence, in Tallinn.
Thank you again!
I am sure that our cooperation will continue and we will have the opportunity to welcome you here again in the future.
