Estonia vows decisive response to possible Kremlin aggression

Estonia's Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna has said that the country will not hesitate to respond decisively if Russia attacks.

Source: Tsahkna speaking to Polish journalists, cited by RMF24, a Polish online news portal, citing, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Tsahkna said that Estonian services are closely monitoring the situation along the border, particularly near the city of Narva, which is seen as a likely first target if Russia launches an attack.

Quote: "I will say it directly: if 'little green men' ever cross our border, we will open fire. The consequences will be clear, there is nothing to discuss. If Russia is not certain that we will truly respond, they may test us."

More details: Tsahkna said that the same applies to Russian fighter jets violating Estonia's airspace, referring to an incident on 19 September.

Quote: "If we see that Russian fighter jets pose a threat to our security, we'll be shooting them down. This is a red line and Putin must remember it. He must know this is NATO territory and the consequences of aggression will not go unpunished."

More details: Tsahkna added that Europe "absolutely cannot trust Putin", especially countries that share a border with Russia.

Background:

• Czech President Petr Pavel has not ruled out that Europe may respond more forcefully to Russian provocations in the future, including potentially shooting down a Russian drone or aircraft.
• In December, Finland hosted the first summit of eight NATO eastern flank countries that share land or sea borders with Russia and Belarus.
• It was also reported earlier that the eight eastern flank countries are seeking dedicated funding from Brussels for defence in the EU's next long-term budget, arguing it is in the interests of collective security.

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