Diplomat urges Estonia to calibrate its foreign policy messaging

Long-serving diplomat Jaap Ora said Estonia should carefully calibrate its public foreign policy messages, warning they could become predictable and lose impact. He made the comments to ERR while discussing Prime Minister Kristen Michal’s response to an alleged US request for the Baltic states to tone down their remarks about Russia.

“Foreign policy is not a place to speak your mind,” Ora wrote on social media. “The heart may be full of emotion, but the public message should be controlled.” He said Estonia’s messages had become predictable, risking fatigue among those who hear them and potentially reducing interest in including Estonia in important discussions.

Reuters reported on Friday, citing several anonymous sources, that the United States had asked the Baltic states to lower the tone on Russia and place less emphasis on the threat it poses in public statements.

Michal said he would not hold back and argued that pressure on Russia should continue.