US-led NATO talks leave Estonia off invitation list

Estonia was not invited to a US-led meeting next month on the future of NATO, ERR reported. Prime Minister Kristen Michal said the gathering was not an official NATO meeting.

Politico reported on Wednesday that the United States would exclude several allies, including the Baltic states, from the gathering. Six diplomats familiar with preparations told the publication that the planned meeting in Poland, led by Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby, would effectively be a working group focused on NATO’s future.

Asked about the reports, government ministries told ERR that allies consult each other continually in various formats. They said that, alongside official NATO forums, allies also meet in other groups to discuss security and defence issues.

Michal said a US-initiated format that began in Bergen was not a NATO meeting. It has been held in different formats, with defence ministers, foreign ministers and ambassadors taking part, he said, adding that NATO decisions are made at the alliance’s working level.

Michal said the Joint Expeditionary Force format was important to Estonia. He also pointed to cooperation in the Nordic-Baltic region, which is outside NATO but largely involves groups of allies.

Defence Minister Martin Herem said that if Scandinavian countries were invited, they would also be interested in defending Estonia’s interests. On Baltic Sea security, he said, they could not set Estonia’s interests aside.