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Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna quoting President Lennart Meri at a meeting with his Chinese counterpart: international law is a small country's nuclear weapon

Republic of Estonia - Ministry of Foreign Affairs

27.09.2024

Today 26 September, Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in New York, with discussions focusing on the case of damaged submarine infrastructure in the Baltic Sea and Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine.

"Estonia and Finland have submitted a request for legal assistance to China, asking the law enforcement agencies in China to conduct procedures related to theNewNew Polar Bear and its crew and contribute to the investigation. We have not received a response to the request for legal assistance so far," Tsahkna said at the meeting. "I called on China to engage in constructive cooperation in an investigation of great importance for Estonia's security."

The focus of the meeting was on Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. Tsahkna said that a lasting peace required a plan that would ensure Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Tsahkna also underlined that without Ukraine's participation, it was impossible to attain a just and lasting peace founded on the principles of territorial integrity and international law.

Estonia and Argentina we are in charge of the fifth point in Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's 10-point peace plan, which concerns the implementation of the principles of the UN Charter and territorial integrity. "Respecting these principles is an existential issue for Estonia, a neighbour of Russia," Tsahkna emphasised.

"For Estonia, it is key that all countries adhere to the UN Charter," Tsahkna underlined and quoted former Estonian President Lennart Meri to the Chinese foreign minister. "International law is a small country's nuclear weapon and for Estonia, reinforcing it is an existential matter."

Tsahkna said any support to Russia in the war was unacceptable to Estonia and we consider such actions as going against Ukraine and our security.

Yesterday, Tsahkna had bilateral meetings with Comfort Ero, CEO of the International Crisis Group, and the foreign ministers of Oman, Argentina, United Arab Emirates, Somalia, Rwanda, Botswana, and Armenia. He also spoke at the G20 ministerial meeting, which was open to all UN members, and the event on advancing democracy, organised by USAID.

Today, Tsahkna will give the opening speech at a side-event on protecting Ukraine's cultural heritage, organised by the Open Society Foundation and Ukraine's Prosecutor General Andrii Kostin, and he will speak at the ministerial meeting of the International Criminal Court (ICC), the meeting of the foreign ministers of the European Union and CELAC, and, deputising for the health minister, at the summit on measures against antibiotics resistance. The foreign minister is also attending the opening of Estonia's honorary consulate in New York and giving a speech at a business diplomacy event in the consulate. The foreign minister will speak at the high-level panel discussion on the fifth anniversary of the Media Freedom Coalition, and will attend the discussion on the Middle East with Arab states, European Union member states and Norway.