The Estonian authorities are still waiting for a response from the German side to a request to allow Tallinn to supply German-made howitzers to Ukraine.

This was stated by the head of the Estonian government Kaya Kallas in an interview with the German agency DPA on the eve of a visit to Berlin.

“We do not yet have an official response from Germany regarding howitzers,” the politician said, adding that “each country decides for itself what kind of assistance it wants to provide to Ukraine.”

At the same time, Tallinn believes that "it is very important to help Ukraine in every possible way."

“Estonia is ready to provide weapons and ammunition to help Ukraine, in cooperation with our allies, defend itself against Russian aggression,” Kallas stressed.

  • Estonian Prime Minister Kaya Kallas

  • © Chesnot/Getty Images

In her opinion, the West should show unity and perseverance in connection with the aggravation of the Ukrainian crisis.

At the same time, Kallas is sure that NATO and the European Union are not responsible for this aggravation.

“So it is Russia that should reduce tensions,” the Estonian prime minister said.

On February 10, Kaya Kallas arrived in Berlin to meet with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

The talks are also attended by Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda and Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins.

"Moment of Truth"

At the same time, the German authorities had previously made it clear that they did not approve of the supply of lethal weapons to Ukraine.

In an interview with The Washington Post, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that Berlin has already provided assistance to Kiev by supplying the Ukrainian military with a batch of helmets, but the transfer of weapons to the Armed Forces of Ukraine is not included in the plans of the German side.

“With regard to exports, there are strict requirements that we comply with regarding the supply of weapons to crisis regions.

There is a long continuity with regard to Germany's arms export restrictions, which was maintained by the previous government.

There is continuity here,” the politician emphasized.

  • © Gaelle Girbes/Getty Images

Berlin is not satisfied with the supply of German-made weapons to Ukraine through third countries.

The fact that the German authorities blocked the transfer of German-made artillery by the Estonian side to Kiev was previously reported by The Wall Street Journal.

Berlin's decision outraged Kiev.

On January 24, on behalf of the country's leadership, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said on the air of the Freedom of Speech program on the ICTV channel that the "moment of truth" had come in relations between Ukraine and Germany.

At the same time, the minister acknowledged that Germany, since 2014, has done a lot for Ukraine, including support for Ukrainian reforms.

“But now every crisis brings the relationship to a moment of truth.

And now, together with Germany, we have reached the moment of truth on a number of fundamentally important issues for the security and future of Ukraine as an independent state and Euro-Atlantic security in general,” Kuleba said.

Among these issues, the Ukrainian minister named the decision of the FRG to ban third countries from supplying Ukraine with German weapons.

“There are questions about granting Germany permission to a third country to transfer weapons.

There is a question of Germany's consent to the purchase of weapons by Ukraine through the NATO system.

And these are the issues where, we believe, there can be no talk at all about blocking something by Germany, ”the head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry believes.

In Moscow, the supply of arms to Ukraine is considered a counterproductive and even dangerous practice.

This was stated in an interview with the editorial association Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland by Russian Ambassador to Berlin Sergei Nechaev.

According to the diplomat, such supplies only provoke nationalist and extremist forces in Ukraine into uncontrolled actions that could cause another crisis.

Experts interviewed by RT share the point of view of the Russian diplomat.

The result of pumping Ukraine with weapons could be a new round of bloodshed, says Alexei Kuznetsov, head of the Center for European Studies at IMEMO RAS.

“Unfortunately, such deliveries continue.

And so far, the international community has not developed any measures to prevent such actions by countries that, with their arms supplies, provoke the outbreak of military conflicts, ”the expert said in a commentary to RT.

  • Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba

  • © Ukrainian Foreign Ministry/Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

In turn, the director general of the Center for the Study of Integration Prospects, Sergei Rekeda, believes that the contradictions between Estonia and Germany on the issue of arms supplies to Ukraine are a manifestation of deep-seated differences within the EU.

“The outwardly monolithic European Union in the political sense is not so unified, it is separated by noticeable geopolitical seams.

One of them is related to the vision of strategic relations with Russia.

The “old” Europe, to which Germany belongs, is set to compromise, and the “new” Europeans, such as the Balts, are radical, ”the expert explained in a RT comment.

Sergei Rekeda doubts that the Estonian leadership will be able to persuade the German colleagues to change their minds about arms supplies to Ukraine.

“The political weight of Estonia is clearly not enough for this.

Perhaps Washington can achieve this.

Therefore, if the German authorities eventually change their approach, this will be the result of American efforts, and not Tallinn at all, ”the expert added.

"Zealous militarists"

It is with the radical anti-Russian position of the Baltic countries that experts connect the calls of these states to strengthen the eastern flank of NATO.

According to Sergei Rekeda, the Baltic politicians are trying to turn the region into a buffer between the EU and Russia.

“These aspirations are dictated not by the interests of the Baltic countries themselves, but only by the interests of the United States - Washington is trying to build a military-political configuration that is convenient for it in Europe.

This "corridor" should pass between the Baltic and Black Seas and include, respectively, the Baltic countries themselves, Ukraine and, ideally, Belarus.

In this context, the leaders of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia act as conductors of American interests,” the expert believes.

For this reason, Ukraine has become the subject of special “concern” for Baltic politicians.

  • US State Department

  • AP

  • © Luis M. Alvarez

Recall that in January, the Lithuanian Ministry of Defense announced plans to supply Ukraine with American man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS) Stinger.

Similar "support" to Kiev is planned to be carried out by the authorities of Latvia.

In turn, Estonia sent the Armed Forces of Ukraine a Role 2 mobile field hospital of its own production.

The hospital is designed for accelerated deployment and use in the field.

This was reported by the press service of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense.

In addition, Estonia will transfer American-made Javelin anti-tank systems to the Armed Forces.

In order to supply US-made weapons to Kiev, Washington's Baltic allies in NATO had to obtain permission from the State Department - such requirements are contained in the US export control rules.

The fact that the State Department agreed on the transfer of American weapons to Ukraine was reported by the Politico newspaper on January 19, citing a source in the American administration.

According to Dmitry Danilov, Head of the Department of European Security at the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences, MGIMO professor, in reality, the Estonian leadership has little interest in the fate of Ukraine.

“It's just that Estonia is pursuing a course towards the so-called“ deterrence of aggression ”of Russia.

Tallinn believes that Russia is capable of occupying not only Ukraine, but also wider territories, including the Baltic states.

It is clear that the supply of weapons from Estonia and other Baltic countries is unlikely to greatly affect the combat capability of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, but Estonia demonstrates its usefulness as a country ready to participate in the anti-Russian campaign, ”the expert explained in an interview with RT.

According to Danilov, although the Baltic countries do not have significant weight in the defense sense, their military-political activity affects the situation in the region.

“The Baltics are the eastern flank of NATO.

Any military activity in this region plays a big role.

In connection with the growing tension between Russia and the alliance, the role of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia as countries adjacent to Russia is also growing.

And the tension is only heated up due to the military-political activity of these states, ”the expert added.

A similar opinion is shared by Alexei Kuznetsov.

According to the analyst, the German authorities are blocking the supply of German-made weapons to Ukraine, because Berlin understands the irresponsibility of such actions.

“Berlin also wants to contain the zealous militarists from Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, who, in the event of a real conflict, will immediately hide in the bushes anyway.

In Germany, the government is more responsible, it understands that inciting war is a road to nowhere.

However, the authorities of the Baltic countries do not think about it.

For them, the growing tension in the region is just an excuse to request more and more assistance from the EU and NATO.

Therefore, they are trying to maintain and escalate this tension, ”the expert summed up.