Not the time for talks or negotiations: Estonian Foreign Minister emphasizes that Russia must be pressured with sanctions
Kyiv • UNN
Margus Tsahkna warned Europe against negotiations with the Russian Federation due to its vulnerable state and economic problems. The Minister calls for increased pressure and sanctions on the Kremlin.
Europe must not take the Kremlin's bait by entering into direct negotiations with Russia at a time when Ukraine has gained the upper hand in the struggle. This was emphasized by Estonia's top diplomat Margus Tsahkna, reports UNN with reference to Bloomberg.
Details
Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna stated that Moscow has intensified ties with European countries as its economy fails and its military struggles to make progress in the fifth year of the full-scale invasion. According to the minister, the response should be to tighten sanctions, not to help Moscow find a way to retreat.
"Now is not the time for talk or negotiations," Tsahkna said in an interview on the sidelines of the Lennart Meri Conference in Tallinn on Saturday. "This is the moment to put pressure on Russia."
His warning comes as U.S. efforts to find a settlement in Ukraine have largely stalled, and Washington's attention has been consumed by the war in Iran. Europe has mostly remained on the sidelines of diplomacy, even as it increasingly bears the brunt of the costs of supporting Kyiv. While the situation could potentially create opportunities for the continent to take the lead, Tsahkna called such thinking "very dangerous."
"We are not very positive about this idea" that "everyone is rushing to Moscow and let's start talking because Russia is weaker," he said. "Now is not the time."
Addendum
The publication emphasizes that efforts to restore engagement with Moscow have waxed and waned since the Kremlin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In February, French President Emmanuel Macron's top diplomat visited Moscow to hold a series of rare face-to-face meetings with Russian officials.
Earlier this month, European Council President António Costa stated that there is "potential" for negotiations with Russia, later clarifying that any discussions would only take place "at the right moment" and that the EU does not want to "interfere with the initiative" led by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Finnish President Alexander Stubb told Italy's Corriere della Sera this week that it is time to start talking to Russia, adding that he does not know when that will happen.
Tsahkna stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin is running out of options and that multiple rounds of Western economic sanctions are working. The Russian invasion has failed to make significant progress while inflicting enormous losses on Moscow's forces, and Ukraine is delivering significant strikes against Russian oil production and shipping facilities, including strikes reaching deep into the country's territory.
The Estonian minister also pointed to growing frustration within Russia over mobile internet disruptions and economic hardships, as well as Moscow's scaled-back May 9 Victory Day military parade, as potential signs of vulnerability.
The media outlet adds that Putin recently lost an important ally in the European Union after Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who had traveled to Moscow several times in recent years, was removed from power. This allowed the EU to adopt another package of sanctions against Russia and approve a 90 billion euro ($105 billion) loan to Ukraine, which Budapest had previously tried to block.
"The tone has changed," Tsahkna said. "Everyone understands that now is the time to pressure Russia. In a broader sense, we see that Russia is currently in an unstable position."