Baltic States – CIS, Estonia, EU – Baltic States, Forum, Legislation, Transport

Keit Pentus-Ro simannus and Grzegorz Schetyna. Warsaw, 22.04.2015. Photo: flickr.com

“Poland is our close ally and one of Estonia’s major partners in defence cooperation. Our bilateral defence cooperation is directed at strengthening NATO's collective defence through defence plans, exercises and the interoperability of forces,” the Foreign Minister noted and highlighted Poland’s active participation in the Baltic air policing mission, at the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre and the Baltic Defence College. The Estonian and Polish Foreign Ministers agreed that in the current security situation, the full implementation of the Readiness Action Plan (RAP) adopted at the NATO Wales Summit is very important. “We hope for the RAP's full implementation for the 2016 Warsaw Summit,” the Foreign Minister noted, adding that in Warsaw, it is also necessary to agree on the next steps in strengthening collective defence.

The Foreign Ministers jointly condemned Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and stressed the need for the continuation of sanctions. “Russia must fulfil the Minsk agreements, pull back arms and allow observers of the OSCE’s special mission into the conflict zone,” Foreign Minister Pentus-Rosimannus said.

Discussing preparations for the Eastern Partnership Summit, the Foreign Minister stressed the need to support the Eastern Partnership countries in carrying out reforms and promoting relations with European Union Member States. “It’s important that the Eastern Partnership countries receive a clear message from the Riga Summit that European integration is possible in the case of the successful implementation of reforms,” the Foreign Minister said.

The Foreign Ministers also spoke of the two countries’ close trade ties and regional energy and transportation projects. The Estonian Foreign Minister stressed the importance of Rail Baltic not only for the Baltic countries, but for the entire region at large. “An efficient and environmentally friendly rail link will add attractiveness to the entire region. We very much appreciate Poland’s cooperation in helping to carry out the Rail Baltica project,” the Foreign Minister added.