Estonian Prime Minister Mihal: Putin Mistook Europe«s Politeness for Weakness 0 24

Provocations in the airspace of NATO countries have only led to the consolidation of the North Atlantic Alliance and have not weakened Europe's readiness to help Ukraine, said Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Mihal in an interview with DW.

DW: The European Parliament has adopted a resolution effectively calling on EU countries to respond more decisively to provocations in European airspace. What is your reaction to the European Parliament's statement?

Kristen Mihal: I consider this support for the Baltic states, Poland, and everyone in Europe and NATO. I would say that NATO is functioning very well for us. The European Parliament and all allies support us. And that is impressive. We feel that we are being supported.

- Do you feel sufficient support from Brussels?

• Not just from Brussels, because as soon as we invoked Article 4 of the NATO treaty, we were supported by everyone, starting from the Baltic states, Northern Europe, and ending with President Trump, who has repeatedly stated that if necessary, the States will defend Poland and the Baltic states. The signals have been strong. Yes, we feel that NATO is working, and our allies support us.

- Are you confident now that the pilots who are patrolling the skies have all the necessary permissions, all the legal powers, for example, to shoot down one of the planes that intrude into NATO airspace if there is a suspicion that the citizens of Estonia are in danger?

• I trust NATO procedures. Each time there is a certain decision and a certain assessment of what the intentions are of those who violate our airspace. Where they are flying, how they are armed, and so on. So every time our pilots and everyone in NATO must assess this. Therefore, I would say that everything is fine, everything is working.

- But some of your citizens have said that these planes should be shot down. Even some in the government have suggested that if this happens again, perhaps the planes should be shot down. Of course, Estonia itself does not have the capabilities for this; it relies on NATO for airspace defense. Do you think your population would want a plane that intruded into the airspace and dared to fly over Estonian territory for more than ten minutes to be shot down?

• The problem still lies with Putin and Russia, which sends drones into Polish airspace, attacks Ukraine, and also violates our airspace. Each case of violation will be assessed. As we saw in Poland, drones were shot down. Should we shoot down these planes? That should be assessed by NATO command.

- It seems that we are now talking about a more serious escalation than before. NATO has repeatedly scrambled planes in the past. This time, Russian pilots clearly knew they were in Estonian airspace. And this was not an accident. It looks like Russia is trying to provoke Estonia.

• Yes, your assessment is correct: they knew they had to leave our airspace and were still there. This is either unusual negligence on Russia's part or a manifestation of malice, because Russians are violating the air borders of European states. And they have only one message for us and for our public - do not give anything to Ukraine, think about security on your own borders. It feels like a game that Putin is playing with us.

- Do you think this works? I mean, support for Ukraine has not diminished, at least among the Baltic states, frontline countries. Has this affected public opinion in any way? In Denmark, after the appearance of drones there, this topic occupied the entire public discourse.

• It may work in the news for 5 or 15 minutes. But we must see the essence. And the essence is that we are strong, and we are determined. We understand that the problem lies with Russia, not anyone else. We need to focus on getting Russian troops out of Ukraine, taking money away from those who help the RF continue the war.

"Russia's shadow fleet is operating in the Baltic. The revenues they bring in account for just under half of Russia's military budget. This is fresh money going to Putin to wage war against NATO, Europe, and Ukraine. No one can wage war without money. If you take money away from Putin, he cannot wage war.

Pressure must be applied to Russia where it really hurts. For me, this is still an oxymoron: why does Europe buy various goods, raw materials, energy resources from Russia, but at the same time raises money to support Ukraine in its struggle against the RF? Moreover, it is necessary to maintain a strong transatlantic alliance - with the United States. If pressure goes in this direction, Russia will likely be forced to retreat sooner or later.

- And what about Estonia's own plans? You are spending a significant portion of your GDP, a huge part of your GDP on defense. But right now you only have ground-based air defense. Are you considering changing this ratio?

• We are developing our capabilities in accordance with NATO's defense plans. Next year, our defense investments will amount to 5% of our GDP. I would say that this is probably the most difficult decision the country has to make. Because while everyone understands the necessity of such a step, it requires raising taxes and cutting expenditures in the public sector. And, frankly, these measures are not very popular.

Everyone probably understands that this is very difficult, but that is the price. Everyone wants to live in peace. Everyone wants their children to live in peace, for borders to be strong. Therefore, we have to invest in defense, but planes and everything else depend on military assessments and NATO defense plans.

- The Baltic states and Poland have been talking for years about the need to increase defense capabilities. Are you not worried that Russia's military industry has outpaced Europe?

• Russia is a large country and advanced in terms of numbers, but not in high-tech areas. We are helping Ukraine, Ukraine is helping Europe, because at certain points we will have access to their intellectual property and experience to counter Russia if needed. We are not lagging behind in knowledge, nor probably in technology, and especially in economic potential, as Europe is much larger than Russia.

In quantitative terms, Russia is probably producing many times more than we are now. But I would say that in three, five, seven years, Europe will have defense potential. Europe was a peaceful project, without weapons, and now for the sake of peace, it will have weapons.

- One last question. Since we are a German public media company, we would like to know how you reacted to the statements of former German Chancellor Angela Merkel in recent days? Her accusations against the Baltic states for opposing negotiations with Vladimir Putin?

• Well, in Europe, it was believed that one must be polite with Putin. This was perceived by Russia as Europe's weakness. When you call and ask something from Russia, they think: "Okay, they are weak. We will push harder." The only thing that helps against Russia is determination, a firm stance, resilience, and unity. Therefore, I would say that everyone is free to write their own memoirs, but here Merkel's words do not resonate particularly well.