"False peace" is a "prelude to new wars": Estonia's FM demands NATO membership for Ukraine

Estonia foreign minister Urmas Reinsalu talks to the press during an EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on January 23, 2023 (John Thys/AFP)

Kateryna Saienko

Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu says he is dissatisfied with the quantity and pace of the allies' arms support because the war still continues.

russia's putin has already made «one strategic mistake» by thinking he could achieve results quickly in Ukraine, the minister says to the Kyiv Independent.

«putin is also putting his leverage, prolonging this war and weakening the Western willpower with the intent that the West will look for some kind of separate political solutions,» the Estonian minister said.

With both russia and Ukraine acknowledging that it would be a long war, Reinsalu warned that it would be «very dangerous» if some allies drop support for Ukraine as it becomes costlier for the West.

Allies should not pressure Ukraine into «working out a certain political solution» even if it cannot meet the West's expectation of a certain timeframe to liberate its territory, he says.

While the easiest way to end the war might be to surrender, the minister emphasized that the West would be complicit in «giving up the future of Ukraine.»

«If we give up, the world will first lose Ukraine and our dignity, and afterward, we will also lose ourselves – at least our security or our coming generation's security.

I'm sure that all the countries are interested in peace, particularly those countries who are neighboring russia, but false peace is just a prelude to new wars,» the minister added.

Reinsalu previously called on allies to finally send tanks to Ukraine. He stressed that holding back on crucial arms delivery for Ukraine would be the same as «co-signing a decision for Ukraine to lose on the ground,» even if russia is «playing» with nuclear threats.

The Estonian minister argued that the only way to achieve European security was for Ukraine to join NATO.

«NATO is the only consistent security guarantee to Ukraine, and also for Europe to evade a new war of aggression against Ukraine by the russian Federation.» Reinsalu stressed.

Estonia has been at the forefront of calling on NATO allies to keep much-needed weapons flowing into Ukraine.

The state's proposed plan, approved by the EU in late March, aims to provide 1 million rounds of ammunition to Ukraine over the next 12 months under a first-of-a-kind joint procurement idea.