Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid said that the country should independently negotiate with Russia.

“We should remain among the countries that themselves speak with Russia and with which other allies and partners discuss issues of interaction with Russians or Russia,” the ERR portal quoted the Estonian leader as saying.

Thus, Kaljulaid commented on the fact that more and more European politicians are taking initiatives to improve relations with Moscow.

According to the Estonian leader, her recent visit to Moscow and a meeting with Vladimir Putin allowed her to better understand "what is happening in Russia and what they think there." This information, she said, can now be shared with her European counterparts.

Earlier, on May 14, the Estonian leader called the criticism of the Latvian and Lithuanian colleagues after her visit to Moscow in the spring of this year erroneous.

“Communicating with all our neighbors is quite natural, but it’s unnatural that I have to explain it,” Kaliulayd said in an interview with the British newspaper The Guardian.

According to the Estonian president, Tallinn and Moscow have many common topics for discussion and are interested in developing bilateral cooperation.

At the same time, Kaljulaid said that she does not accept the “boycott policy” with respect to Russia pursued by Lithuania and Latvia.

  • Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid
  • Reuters
  • © Ints Kalnins

The first meeting in ten years between the Russian president and the Estonian leader was held on April 18. During his talks with his Estonian counterpart, Vladimir Putin said that the parties have common interests that are related to the Baltic region. According to him, this is, in particular, the transport sector and transit issues. Kaliulide, in turn, noted that the Baltic Republic is ready for dialogue with Moscow.

Economic interest

According to analysts, the main reason why Tallinn wants to establish relations with Moscow at the highest level is the desire to mitigate its losses from the anti-Russian sanctions of the EU and the USA.

Recall that at the end of April, the Russian ambassador to Tallinn, Alexander Petrov, said that the Estonian side had lost “hundreds of millions of euros” due to restriction against Russia. He also expressed hope that in Tallinn "they will heed the voice of national business, which is increasingly loudly calling for a return to normal, good-neighborly relations with Russia."

In addition, in early April, the former mayor of Tallinn, Edgar Savisaar, announced the need to lift anti-Russian sanctions restrictions.

The sanctions and retaliatory measures introduced by Tallinn in 2014, which Moscow was forced to take, led to a decrease in trade between the countries. If in 2013-2014 the volume of trade between Russia and Estonia amounted to more than $ 10 billion, then in 2017-2018 this figure was half as much - $ 5 billion.

  • Destruction of sanctions products
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The main reason that forces the Estonian leadership to establish a direct dialogue with Moscow is “the opportunity to profit in the economic sphere,” said Vladimir Olenchenko, senior researcher at the Center for European Studies at IMEMO RAS.

“Estonia now has a lot of problems - both domestic and domestic. For this reason, the republic is looking for opportunities to improve its position, including through increased economic partnership with Russia, ”the expert said in an interview with RT.

According to him, a significant income of Estonia brings “the transit of goods through the republic from Russia to the Baltic Sea and vice versa”. There is growth opportunity in mutual trade, he said.

“The Estonian population would benefit from better ties with Moscow, because trade relations at the border would improve,” the analyst said.

At the same time, Olenchenko emphasized that anti-Russian sanctions negatively affect both Estonian consumers and producers. Agriculture is also under attack. All this, coupled with a future reduction in EU financial assistance, makes Estonia poorer.

“Small goods production operates in the republic, therefore, local companies, losing the market, are not able to quickly recover, unlike large enterprises in other countries,” the expert stated. “All these negative consequences of anti-Russian sanctions, together with the upcoming reduction in subsidies from the European Union, will make the country even poorer.”

In turn, Nikolai Mezhevich, President of the Russian Association of Baltic Studies, Doctor of Economics, professor of St. Petersburg State University, pointed out that tourism is another area that will benefit from establishing ties with Moscow.

“Establishing ties with Moscow would be a positive change that would have a beneficial effect on Estonians. Improving relations with Russia means promoting development in areas such as trade and tourism, ”the expert said in an interview with RT.

Mezhevich also noted that the normalization of relations between the two countries will lead to an increase in trade by "several billion dollars."

Between two fires

The statement by the Estonian leader on the need to pursue an independent policy towards Russia does not cancel the fact that Tallinn in its actions continues to focus on Washington, experts say.

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“Tallinn has recently been extremely active in the wake of Washington, which makes the prospect of improving relations with Russia even more unsteady,” Mezhevich said.

According to him, a rapprochement with Moscow would be unprofitable for most of the Estonian political elite, since in this case it would have to make excuses to its American colleagues.

Analysts also pointed out that the Estonian leadership does not have a single opinion on the issue of establishing relations with Russia, which is also evidenced by contradictory statements coming from the authorities of the republic.

So, in mid-July, the head of the Estonian Ministry of Internal Affairs, Deputy Prime Minister Mart Helme, stated that there was no so-called Russian threat in the Baltic states.

“None of the parties - neither the US, nor the EU, nor Russia - wants a conflict here, because everyone understands that the hot spots are in the south today," Helme said in an interview with baltnews.ee, noting that he does not believe the possibility of a Russian attack on Estonia.

However, not everyone in the Estonian ruling elite shares this opinion. Thus, on August 14, Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu and US Senator Ron Wyden discussed “threats to the region from Russia” during the talks. Reinsalu then declared his desire to strengthen military cooperation with the United States and called Washington "a key ally."

  • Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia Urmas Reinsalu
  • Reuters
  • © Lehtikuva / Markku Ulander

As Vladimir Olenchenko notes, contradictory statements by Estonian officials against Russia suggest that the republic’s authorities have not yet decided on their course in the Russian direction.

“The constant claims against Russia, the deployment of NATO units that pose a threat to the Russian side - there are many contradictions. The Estonian leadership understands that it is beneficial to improve relations with Russia, but at the same time wants to meet Euro-Atlantic requirements, ”the analyst explained.

In turn, Mezhevich pointed out that the very existence of such disagreements in the political elite of Estonia is already a positive trend, since the earlier anti-Russian approach in the higher echelons of power could be called "reinforced concrete".

“Now in Estonian politics there are several approaches to relations with Russia. The President, the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Minister of Foreign Affairs have different points of view on the question of how the republic should behave in relation to Moscow, the analyst said. “However, it’s too early to talk about a sharp change in the general anti-Russian course, which the Estonian leadership adheres to.”

According to Olenchenko, a multi-vector policy could be an outlet for Estonia, in which an alliance with Washington would not mean a severance of ties with Russia.

“For this, it is not necessary to completely abandon ties with Washington or Moscow, it will be enough just to come to a consensus. Now the Estonian president is trying to find this balance, ”said the expert.