Estonia PM offers no guarantees country’s troops not to deploy in Ukraine

Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas refused to provide any guarantees that units of the Estonian Defense Forces would not be sent to Ukraine.

Kallas stressed this in an address to the country’s Parliament on March 13, ERR reports.

The main topic of the government Q&A hour was the situation around French President Emmanuel Macron's statement on the possibility of deploying foreign troops in the territory of Ukraine.

After MPs from the Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE) once again demanded guarantees that the Estonian military would not be deployed in Ukraine, Kallas said she would not be the one to make such a decision.

"I don't make such promises because circumstances might change. From your interpretation, it seems that interference could be anything. Our military aid to Ukraine may also be perceived by the Russian Federation as interference, because we really want Ukraine to win, we really want Russia to lose and return to its borders," Kallas said.

"To send soldiers somewhere beyond the borders of Estonia requires a mandate from the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia - ed.), so you can decide that yourself. Just like we sent soldiers on various missions, it requires a mandate from the Riigikogu. I can't decide this individually. The issue will not pass you by," Kallas told MPs.

As reported, speaking in Paris on February 26, French President Emmanuel Macron said he did not rule out the prospect of European troops supporting Ukraine on its soil.

Western democracies need to discuss the idea of sending troops to Ukraine and stop drawing "red lines" in the matter of aid to Kyiv, said Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda.