Foreign Ministry Deplores Statement by President of Estonia about Timeline of Ukraine’s European Integration

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba deplored the statement by President of Estonia Kersti Kaljulaid who had claimed that Ukraine would need another 20 years to be ready to join the European Union.

The minister noted that more than two decades ago, Western countries “spoke to Estonians, Lithuanians, and Latvians in the same bossy tone.”

“I was very surprised to hear these words from the President of Estonia. These statements do not correspond to the friendly nature of our relations. I don’t know what influenced her. We are disappointed with such statements and consider them inappropriate, especially in the context of the fact that she was a guest in Ukraine, where she was received very sincerely and in the best way… We brought this position to the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ambassador of Estonia to Ukraine. Friends and partners should not  make such statements, and Estonia and Ukraine are definitely friends and partners,” said the Foreign Minister.

Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine Olha Stefanishyna regarded the words of the President of Estonia as the “signal of reluctance” of the European Union to expand.

As a reminder, President of Estonia Kersti Kaljulaid recently said that Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia needed “another 20 years” to meet the criteria required for EU membership, and the precondition for joining NATO was the restoration of control over all occupied territories.

She also said that she advised Estonians to trade but not to invest in Ukraine because it was not yet possible to be sure of protecting their rights.

Bohdan Marusyak