Today, Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu attended the meeting of the European Union Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg, where he emphasised the need to hold Russia accountable for the crime of aggression and war crimes in Ukraine, and welcomed the decision to set up a military training mission for Ukraine’s Armed Forces.
At the meeting, Reinsalu raised the issue of holding Russia accountable for its aggression against Ukraine. “Bringing Russia’s aggression and war crimes to an international tribunal must become European Union policy,” Reinsalu said. He added that Estonia also supported the International Criminal Court’s investigation into the crimes against humanity, genocide and war crimes committed in Ukraine.
To provide continued support to Ukraine, EU foreign ministers decided to adopt additional assistance measures under the European Peace Facility with a tranche worth €500 million, where Estonia is also a contributor. Nearly 17.7 million people are now in need of humanitarian aid in Ukraine as a result of Russia’s war. Estonia has provided Ukraine with humanitarian aid worth nearly €21.6 million so far.
The ministers agreed to set up a Military Assistance Mission in support of Ukraine (EUMAM Ukraine) to enhance the defence capabilities of Ukraine. “The aim of the mission is to offer Ukraine’s Armed Forces urgent and long-term military training in a sustainable way in line with their needs,” Reinsalu said.
Estonia is also supporting Ukraine in its European Union accession process. “Estonia’s goal is to help Ukraine meet the requirements of the roadmap by late June 2023, which would make it possible to make the decision on launching accession talks the same year and provided the necessary requirements are met, Ukraine could achieve EU member status by the end of this decade,” Reinsalu noted. He added that the action plan for the European Union accession process was approved by the government last week.
Reinsalu emphasised that Estonia considered it crucial to continue raising the cost of the aggression for Russia, including by immediately starting work on the ninth sanctions package. In the beginning of the meeting, EU foreign ministers were joined by Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba from a bomb shelter, having been woken by a Russian missile attack on Kyiv this morning.
Discussing the situation in Iran, the foreign ministers decided to impose sanctions on 16 individuals involved in human rights violations during the protests in Iran. “I condemn the systematic restrictions on fundamental freedoms and rights in Iran and recognise the bravery of young people – especially women – in standing up to injustice,” Reinsalu said.
The foreign ministers also agreed to send a monitoring capacity to the Armenia-Azerbaijan border. Its initial mandate is two months and it can have up to 40 observers. The meeting also included preparations for the UN Climate Change Conference (COP27), discussions on the escalation of the conflict in Ethiopia and the coup in Burkina Faso, as well as the Global Gateway initiative that included the Tallinn Digital Summit last week.
From Luxembourg, Foreign Minister will travel to Berlin, where he will speak at a foreign policy forum of the Körber-Stiftung tomorrow and meet with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.
The doorstep interview of the foreign minister is available here: https://newsroom.consilium.europa.eu/events/20221017-foreign-affairs-council-october-2022/137159-arrival-and-doorstep-ee-reinsalu-20221017
The joint doorstep of the foreign ministers of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania is available here: https://newsroom.consilium.europa.eu/events/20221017-foreign-affairs-council-october-2022/137157-arrival-and-joint-doorstep-lv-ee-lt-rinkevics-reinsalu-landsbergis-20221017