Sending NATO instructors to Ukraine would not lead to escalation - Estonia’s PM
NATO allies should not fear that sending instructors to Ukraine to train Ukrainian recruits could drag the Alliance into a war with Russia.
That’s according to Prime Minister of Estonia, Kaja Kallas, who spoke in an interview with Financial Times, Ukrinform reports.
According to the head of government, "there are countries who are training soldiers on the ground already," and that they do this at their own risk.
She added that, should Russian forces target instructors in Ukraine it would not automatically trigger NATO's Article 5 on collective defense.
"I can’t possibly imagine that if somebody is hurt there, then those who have sent their people will say ‘it’s article five. Let’s… bomb Russia.’ It is not how it works. It’s not automatic. So these fears are not well-founded,” the prime minister said.
According to Kallas, in Estonia, such a step requires parliament’s consent.
It's an open public debate, she noted, adding that nothing should be ruled out at this point," she said.
The head of government believes that assistance in the training of Ukrainian forces on its own territory will not imply escalation.
Russia’s propaganda “is all about being in a war with NATO, so they don’t need an excuse”, the prime minister believes. “If they want to attack, they will attack," she stressed.
As Ukrinform reported earlier, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stated that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization has no plans to deploy troops in Ukraine, and that the Ukrainian government has made no such request.
Photo: Government Office