Estonian politicians do not expect the war in Ukraine to end until Russia seriously comes to the negotiating table, despite U.S. President Donald Trump saying the latest round of discussions is making progress.
On Sunday, Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will meet in Florida to discuss the next steps of Ukraine’s 20-point peace plan, an updated version of a 28-point U.S.-brokered peace plan.
Estonian politicians do not believe a breakthrough is likely as long as Russia does not take the negotiations seriously.
Marko Mihkelson (Reform), chair of the Riigikogu Foreign Affairs Committee, said: “It is the end of the year, and despite the fact that many meetings have taken place and various points have been discussed that could be part of a future peace agreement, we still hear from the aggressor — Russia — that they are not ready to give up their strategic goals. The latest interviews and statements from dictator Putin also show that they are not changing their objectives.”
Raimond Kaljulaid (SDE), member of the Riigikogu National Defense Committee, said: “These kinds of statements do not mean much. In the end, what matters is whether an agreement can be reached or not. If we are talking about the coming days, there will indeed be a meeting between the president of Ukraine and the president of the United States in Florida, but the war is still between the Russian Federation and Ukraine. For us to talk about a possible agreement, Ukraine and Russia must, at some point, begin serious negotiations with each other.”
On Saturday, Kyiv was hit by a fresh wave of Russian missiles and drones during a 10-hour attack, killing at least two people and injuring 32 others, according to the authorities. Russia fired almost 500 drones and 40 missiles at Ukraine, the BBC reported.
Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal (Reform) spoke with Zelenskyy on Friday night before this weekend’s summit in Florida.
“We discussed the latest developments. Ukraine is making every effort to reach a just and lasting peace. Estonia stands firmly with Ukraine,” Michal said afterwards, calling for more “pressure” on Russia.
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