Luik warns against letting Russia make European security demands

Former Estonian ambassador to NATO Jüri Luik says it is bad that Russia has been given an opportunity to make demands on European security while negotiations on peace in Ukraine are under way, ERR reported. Luik is running for parliament with the Isamaa party.

Luik said the reports of Russian demands were based on a purported leak published by the German newspaper Bild. He noted that the Kremlin had denied the claims through spokesman Dmitry Peskov, and said he knew of no source confirming them apart from the Bild article.

Luik said the US-led negotiations had created a situation in which Ukraine’s peace and the future structure of European security were being discussed in parallel. European countries had said a peace agreement should come before discussions on European security, he said, adding that allowing the topics to be addressed at the same time was a mistake.

He also said the US officials conducting the talks were not particularly experienced in dealing with Russia and were treating the process like technical or commercial negotiations. European countries should not become victims of that approach, he said.

If Europe takes part in negotiations on a peace agreement for Ukraine, Luik said, its representatives should have a clear mandate from the European Union and be accountable for reporting back. He cited European Council President Antonio Costa and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas as representatives supported by Estonia because they have an obligation to report to EU member states.

Bild reported that Russia’s proposals for a new European security arrangement included demands concerning the Baltic states, Finland and Moldova, as well as Ukraine. According to the newspaper, Moscow wants Finland to leave NATO, the alliance to close its military bases in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and Moldova to become a federation.