Ukraine and Russia’s war on it were the focus of the speech on the implementation of the EU policy delivered Tuesday by Estonia’s Prime Minister Kaja Kallas in Riigikogu, the Estonian parliament. She said it was inevitable, since “most of our concerns these days are linked in one way or another to the war.”
Kallas called the year 2022, specifically the 24th day of February, when Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began, the “most important turning point of our era for Europe.”
“What we are actually seeing is the final act of the disintegration of the Soviet Union. Vladimir Putin has described the disintegration of the Soviet Union as the greatest geopolitical catastrophe. If so, with his attack on Ukraine, Putin will bring this so-called catastrophe to fruition. And not for Ukraine, not for Europe, but for Russia itself. On February 24, Russia signed itself out of the civilized world,” Kallas said. “Russia has lost its friends and respect in the eyes of the world. Russia will never again be a reliable partner in the eyes of the rest of the world. Never again.”
She also mentioned another turning point in this era for Europe, namely the prospect of joining the European Union by new members, including Ukraine. “None of these decisions would have come about so quickly if it hadn’t been for the war. War requires a quick decision; war requires bold and forward-looking decisions,” the Prime Minister emphasized.
