• Military

• WMD Menu                           

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Foreign Minister Tsahkna in Munich: The martyr's death of Navalny symbolises the monstrous nature of the Russian regime

Republic of Estonia - Ministry of Foreign Affairs

17.02.2024

Today 16 February, Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna attended the Munich Security Conference in Germany, and commenting on the death of Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny, said it proved the monstrous nature of the Russian regime.

"Navalny dedicated his life to uncovering the true nature of Putin's regime and fighting it," Tsahkna said. "Navalny could assume what kind of a fate awaited him in Russia; yet he still returned there. Now he has died as a martyr."

At the side events of the conference, speaking about Russia's aggression against Ukraine, Tsahkna said that Russia must suffer as a result of its aggression and one way to achieve this is to use frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine.

"The use of force must lead to economic hardship, isolation, and eventually shameful defeat," Tsahkna said. "Using frozen Russian assets helps to achieve a turning point in the war and bring Russia's defeat closer."

At the meetings, Tsahkna presented the draft law submitted by the government of Estonia to the Riigikogu that would allow the use of frozen Russian assets as an advance payment to help Ukraine. The minister said we must not be afraid to take any steps that would contribute to Russia's defeat.

"Putin is playing on the fear of a nuclear disaster," Tsahkna noted. "However, if Ukraine loses this war, we will find ourselves in a world without security, prosperity and freedoms, and similarly, this is nothing short of a disaster."

At his meeting with British Foreign Secretary David Cameron, Tsahkna said that Ukraine's victory is achieved with the long-term commitment of Allies and partners. "If every member of the Ramstein coalition allocated 0.25% of their GDP annually for Ukraine's military aid, Ukraine would win this war within a few years," Tsahkna said, outlining Estonia's strategy for victory.

Tsahkna noted that while Russia is not posing an immediate threat to NATO countries, assessments show that after the end of the full-scale war, Russia is able to restore its military power within three to five years. This is why Europe must reinforce its defence and deterrence capabilities and increase defence spending.

On the sidelines of the conference, Tsahkna met with the Foreign Minister of Peru Javier González-Olaechea Franco, the Foreign Minister of Iraq Fuad Hussein, Chief Executive Officer of the American Jewish Committee Ted Deutch, Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Amy Pope, Vice-President of the European Commission Věra Jourová and Chairman of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) Robert Floyd.

Before the security conference, Foreign Minister Tsahkna attended a breakfast meeting with representatives of the Parliament of Bavaria; talks focused on security, and possibilities for bilateral cooperation between Estonia and Bavaria.