Our focus must now be on how to compel Russia to abandon its aggressive aims. The first step must be Russia’s agreement to a ceasefire. Only then can meaningful negotiations begin on achieving a just and lasting peace.
Europe has considerable leverage to make this happen. We have more than €200 billion in frozen Russian assets, the ability to increase sanctions pressure, and further means to restrict Russia’s capacity to finance and sustain its war of aggression. The European Union is prepared to impose a full ban on maritime services for vessels transporting Russian oil. What is needed now is the political will to use these tools.
At the same time, we must not lose sight of efforts to establish a special tribunal for the crime of aggression, restrict the issuance of tourist visas to Russian citizens, and prevent Russian military personnel from entering the Schengen Area. These are all measures we have pursued throughout Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine.
After nearly five years of killing and destruction, Russia cannot continue to claim it seeks peace while persisting in its attacks on Ukraine. We must not allow the theatre of negotiations to obscure reality, nor forget that Russia’s demands directly affect the security of Estonia and Europe as a whole.
Europe should therefore focus less on how to participate more effectively in a negotiation process dictated by Russia and far more on how to use every instrument at its disposal to increase pressure on Moscow.
On Monday, I will travel to Brussels for the meeting of EU Foreign Ministers, where I will urge my colleagues to move from words to action and make full use of all the tools available to Europe to increase pressure on Russia.
