Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu is in Bucharest, Romania, for the meeting of NATO foreign ministers, where the agenda centres on Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and supporting Ukraine.
At the first session, Foreign Minister Reinsalu, who was in Kyiv on Monday with his Nordic and Baltic colleagues, gave an overview of the meetings in Ukraine, emphasising the need to provide Ukraine with air defence systems and long-range missiles. “We must change our mindset from gradual assistance to comprehensive assistance,” Reinsalu said. He added that there is no European security without Ukrainian security, and like-minded countries must aim to increase defence assistance to Ukraine.
Arriving in Bucharest with his Ukrainian colleague Dmytro Kuleba, Reinsalu said that to achieve victory, it was necessary to first survive the winter, and this is why Ukraine urgently needs heavy weaponry and air defence systems in addition to humanitarian aid. “At today’s meeting, I called on all NATO members to contribute one per cent of their GDP to helping Ukraine,” Reinsalu said.
In addition to increasing defence assistance, Reinsalu underlined the need to discuss Ukraine’s path to NATO. “Today, as we are celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Prague summit, when Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia and Slovakia were asked to join, I hope that in the future we can celebrate Ukraine receiving an invitation to become a NATO member,” Reinsalu said. He added that in the future, NATO’s door must remain open to all like-minded democracies of Europe.
The foreign minister said that Ukraine’s victory and certainty that Russia would not dictate the way of life of its neighbours, as well as Ukraine’s NATO membership were the preconditions for the future security architecture of Europe.
Reinsalu also discussed NATO enlargement with his Turkish colleague Mevlut Çavușoǧlu on the sidelines of the meeting of foreign ministers. “I hope that the Turkish parliament will soon approve the accession protocols of Finland and Sweden because the addition of Finland and Sweden would strengthen the entire Alliance, particularly the Baltic Sea region,” Reinsalu said. He conveyed his condolences to Türkiye and the families of victims of all those killed in the recent terror attack in Istanbul and the devastating earthquake in the Duzce region.
On the initiative of the G7 and partners, discussions also covered the resistance of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure to Russia’s intensified attacks, which target the critical civilian infrastructure.
The event marking 20 years since the formal invitation to NATO featured archival photos and short clips from the Prague summit, where Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia and Slovakia were invited to join NATO. The foreign ministers of the invited countries attended the event and signed a commemorative stamp collection.
On the second day of the meeting, the agenda includes support to NATO partners Georgia, Moldova and Bosnia and Herzegovina, actions related to the strategic concept of the Alliance, China, energy security and resilience. Finland and Sweden were invited to attend all formal sessions.
The foreign ministers of NATO members, as well as Finland and Sweden, made a joint statement expressing support to Ukraine and reiterating NATO’s readiness to face any challenges. The statement is available here: NATO - News: Statement by NATO Foreign Ministers - Bucharest, 29-30 November 2022, 29-Nov.-2022
Photos of the event are available here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/estonian-foreign-ministry/albums/72177720304072522
The statement of Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu ahead of the meeting of NATO foreign ministers is available here: NATO Multimedia - Doorstep statement by the Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs at the meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers
