Amherd speaks in Estonia about the war in Ukraine, defense and the EU
Published: Tuesday, Feb 6th 2024, 22:10
Back to Live Feed
On the second day of her visit to Estonia, President Viola Amherd met with President Alar Karis, Minister of Defense Hanno Pevkur and Prime Minister Kaja Kallas. The main topics of discussion were European policy, the security situation and the war in Ukraine.
Amherd was received by Karis at the presidential palace on Tuesday. "The discussion about the war in Ukraine was interesting," Amherd told the Keystone-SDA news agency in the Estonian capital Tallinn.
The Valais native spoke with her counterpart in particular about the high-level conference on the peace formula for Ukraine, which Switzerland is currently organizing. This is a step that Estonia supports, she assured them.
The war in Ukraine also came up in her conversation with the Minister of Defense. Estonia understands Switzerland's neutral position and that it is therefore unable to export weapons. "They are pleased that we are doing a lot in the humanitarian field, including mine clearance," said Amherd.
The Estonians are particularly interested in finding out whether Switzerland also carries out mine clearance at sea. As part of this mine clearance support, "we are looking at Ukraine's needs", said Amherd.
Although Switzerland does not specialize in clearing mines at sea, if Ukraine were to announce a great need in this area, "we would work together with specialists and look for solutions," said the Swiss defence minister.
Cyber defense
Amherd's meeting with her counterpart Pevkur provided an opportunity to discuss bilateral relations in the area of defense. Both Switzerland and Estonia have a militia system and a similar system for mobilization. About 20 years ago, Switzerland informed Estonia of its approach. Estonia then adopted the procedure and developed it further, said the Minister.
Army chief Thomas Süssli will travel to Estonia in June to exchange ideas with his partners and see whether Switzerland can learn from developments in Estonia, Amherd continued. A reserve system is known in Estonia and the aim is to see whether this would be a possibility for Switzerland. He will also find out about cyber defense, an area in which Estonia has experience.
The Federal President later met Estonian Prime Minister Kallas. She spoke with her about digitalization, cyber security and artificial intelligence. The country is also further along with e-voting than Switzerland. In the last election, over 50 percent of voters in Estonia used e-voting, said Amherd.
Russian assets
The freezing of Russian assets was also discussed at her meeting with Kallas. In Estonia, a law is being prepared to freeze these assets and use them for the reconstruction of Ukraine, which was invaded by Russia. If the European countries and the G7 agree on such a law, Switzerland should also consider adopting such a law, said Amherd.
Switzerland wants a solution at international level and not for each country to develop its own measures. The Estonian Prime Minister had assured her that the European Union and the G7 were working on projects similar to the Estonian law, said Amherd. When asked whether such a law would be compatible with Swiss neutrality, the President of the Swiss Confederation replied that it would depend on the situation.
Relations with the EU
While the draft negotiating mandate with the EU is currently being consulted, relations between Switzerland and its large neighbor were also discussed. Switzerland can count on the support of Estonia, which is also in favor of a quick solution, Amherd assured after their meetings in Tallinn.
As part of the second Swiss contribution to certain EU member states, an amount of CHF 26 million has been reserved for Estonia. This contribution will enable the two countries to work together in the areas of biodiversity and integration, an important issue for the Baltic country, which is home to many Ukrainian refugees.
From Estonia, the President of the Swiss Confederation will travel on to Norway.
©Keystone/SDA
English 
German 
French 
Spanish 
Arabic