Estonia’s Prime Minister Kristen Mihal expressed the position that security guarantees for Ukraine should be brought as close as possible to the principles of NATO’s collective defense under Article 5. He stressed that such guarantees should become the central issue at the Washington meeting between Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump, even if Ukraine’s NATO membership takes time.
“Only by acting independently can we hope to persuade Americans to do the same. Estonia has stated its concrete contribution to the Coalition of the Willing. Moreover, from Estonia’s perspective, Ukraine’s future in the European Union and NATO is the best long-term guarantee we can offer”
– Kristen Mihal
According to him, Europe should be ready to take on a leading role in providing reliable security guarantees for Ukraine and balance support with the United States.
“Support for Ukraine is unwavering. It is crucial to achieve an unconditional ceasefire – Ukraine cannot negotiate under bombardment”
– Kristen Mihal
After the Coalition of the Willing’s video conference on August 17, Mihal confirmed that no one trusts the head of the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin, and the pressure on the aggressor will continue.
“The pressure on the aggressor will continue”
– Kristen Mihal
Regarding the meeting in the United States: Zelensky arrived in Washington on August 18 for talks with Trump and EU leaders. According to the schedule, the meeting with Trump will begin at 20:15 Kyiv time, the multilateral meeting – at 22:00. Attending will be the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, NATO Secretary General Rutte, the Chancellor of Germany Merz, the Prime Minister of Italy Meloni, the President of Finland Stubb, the President of France Macron, and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Starmer.