Ukraine war: Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas praises Emmanuel Macron

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Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas and French President Emmanuel Macron

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Fred Dugit / MAXPPP / IMAGO

After the controversial Ukraine summit at the Élysée Palace in Paris earlier this week, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas praised the host, French President Emmanuel Macron, for his commitment to Kiev.

»The summit came at the right time.

“President Macron emphasized the spirit of victory,” said Kallas in an interview with “Stern”.

»The victory of Ukraine must be our goal, otherwise we will achieve nothing.

That was the spirit of this meeting.”

At a press conference after the meeting, Macron did not rule out sending Western ground troops to Ukraine.

Chancellor Scholz then became angry and responded with a sharp denial.

Kallas said: “We debated very openly behind closed doors in Paris.

There were different suggestions, not all of which met with approval from all sides.

But it’s good that we’re discussing all options.”

But it is also clear that “public opinion on this varies in different countries.

Political leaders have to take this into account.”

A few days before the Paris meeting, Kallas said in a speech in Hamburg in the presence of the Chancellor that at the Munich Security Conference in mid-February she had "missed a spirit of victory" with regard to Ukraine.

Things were different in Paris, she now said.

Regarding the Chancellor's announcement that he would not deliver any Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine, Kallas said: "Germany has done a lot for Ukraine, as the absolute figures for German military aid make that clear.

France is also doing a lot to support Ukraine. It is very important that both countries take a leadership role in supporting Ukraine and work towards a victory for Ukraine.

»We should not be afraid of our own power and should not overestimate Russia's power.

The fear of escalation causes us to make ourselves smaller than we are.

“That’s wrong,” says Kallas.

"Russia knows that NATO is militarily superior and does not want a conflict with NATO any more than we do with Russia." Alluding to France and Great Britain's deliveries of their own cruise missiles to Kiev, the Estonian Prime Minister said: "If the Ukrainians are not afraid of one because of that If we have to escalate, then we shouldn’t either.”

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