Kaja Kallas: Estonian PM urges Nato to bolster support for U
2024-02-24 15:40:36+00:00

Estonia's prime minister has told the BBC that leaders risk ignoring
lessons from the 1930s and 1940s if they do not bolster support for
Ukraine.

In a striking warning, Kaja Kallas said that war could expand "very
fast in Europe, so no country is left untouched" if Vladimir Putin
wins.

The leader of Estonia, which borders Russia, called on Ukraine's
allies to "do the utmost to help".

Ms Kallas has also urged Nato countries to increase their defence
spending.

Currently, Nato members are asked to contribute 2% of their GDP to
defence. Ms Kallas wants Nato countries to increase defence spending
to 3% of their GDP.

In an interview on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Ms Kallas said:
"Russia will not continue if they lose in Ukraine, they will continue
if they win in Ukraine, that's why it's very important for all of us
that we do the utmost to help them right now.

"Because, what are the lessons from the 1930s and 1940s? We learned
from the 1940s that when war really expands to Europe, it goes very
fast in Europe, so no country is left untouched by this."

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Estonia spends more than 3% of its GDP on defence, and Ms Kallas has
urged other countries to follow their example.

"In 1988, all the Nato countries spent more than 2% of their GDP on
defence, some even over 6%, and why? Because the threat was real,
there was a Cold War going on, now there is a hot war going on in
Europe, and still some countries think that it doesn't really concern
them," she said.

Ms Kallas has made her comments as American politicians continue to
wrangle over the latest package of financial support for Ukraine,
which has been held up by Republicans in Washington DC.

Other Western leaders are visiting Ukraine over the weekend, and
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has released a statement saying the UK
will do "whatever it takes" to support the war torn country.

Ms Kallas was recently named on Putin's 'wanted' list. But she says
it is a 'great honour', and is not afraid - despite the death of
Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny last week.

She said: "I got a lot of messages of congratulations, that it's a
great honour, that it's the biggest award that one can get, for
standing up for your principles.

"But jokes aside, this shows that Putin's playbook hasn't changed,
this is trying to eliminate all the competition, all the competitors
in the political life of Russia, trying to intimidate his opponents,
and sow fear within our societies, so that we would refrain from the
decisions that we would otherwise make.

"I mean, supporting Ukraine, being very vocal about this, advocating
also increasing defence expenditure within the Nato countries.

"So this is meant to make me afraid, and the only response is that
shouldn't be afraid."