Undersecretary for Political Affairs Kyllike Sillaste-Elling was on a visit to Ukraine on 6 and 7 February, meeting with Igor Zhovkva, Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine; Yevhen Perebyinis, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs; Oleksandr Ilkov, General Director of the Government Office for the Coordination of European and Euro-Atlantic Integration; and Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, Chair of the the Verkhovna Rada’s Committee of Ukraine’s integration into the European Union. The meetings covered Ukraine’s accession into the European Union and NATO, military aid from the European Union, and supporting and rebuilding Ukraine.
Estonia affirmed its readiness to sign a bilateral agreement between Estonia and Ukraine as a follow-up to the G7’s Vilnius Declaration signed last summer in support of Ukraine. “More than 30 countries have now joined the G7’s Vilnius Declaration from last summer and are signing bilateral agreements. The agreement between Estonia and Ukraine covers all the areas where we are supporting Ukraine and shows our long-term commitment to continuing this support,” the undersecretary explained.
Sillaste-Elling recognised Ukraine for its commitment to joining the European Union. “In light of the historic decision made at the European Council last December, Estonia, for its part, is ready to offer every support to Ukraine’s European integration,” Sillaste-Elling said. “We have completed this journey as a country and we are supporting our Ukrainian colleagues based on our experience on every step of their way to European Union membership.”
At the meetings, Sillaste-Elling also highlighted the importance of NATO’s July summit in Washington, noting that Estonia hoped to see further steps in Ukraine’s accession into NATO. „Ukraine’s NATO membership is essential for Euro-Atlantic security.”
The meetings also discussed the Ukrainian Peace Formula, which Sillaste-Elling called the only possible peace plan and which Estonia actively supports.
The undersecretary also emphasised the importance of using frozen Russian assets for the benefit of Ukraine. “We are advocating for both Estonia and the European Union making progress with using frozen assets. We are the first country to draft legislation that would allow the use of frozen assets as an advance payment, and we call on other countries and the European Union to follow our lead,” she said.
The agenda also included the importance of establishing a special tribunal, and sanctions against Russia, and Ukrainians recognised Estonia for maintaining its initiative and the tangible steps that have already been taken.