Karis explained his statement about negotiations with Russia: dialogue is possible only after changes in Russian Federation
Estonian President Alar Karis explained that his remarks regarding negotiations with Russia refer to a future in which Russia changes its policy.
According to Censor.NET, this was reported by ERR.
"At some point, the war will end—and all wars do end; I’ve said this many times—just as the Hundred Years’ War eventually came to an end. This means that we will then have to assess the state of the world. And we will also have to assess the situation with regard to Russia," said the Estonian president.
He added that Europe would be able to begin engaging with Russia "only when Russia changes." At the same time, he noted that it would be "quite difficult" to conduct negotiations with Russia at this time.
"And when I talk about communication, people often think I'm referring to Putin, even though I haven't said a word about him. No, I'm talking about Russia. I'm not talking about the context of today's negotiations, but about the time when the war will end," Karis added.
At the same time, he acknowledged that negotiations with the Kremlin leader are pointless at this point, since he has no intention of halting his aggression against Ukraine.
"Right now, there’s really nothing to talk about with Putin. We can see that a war of attrition is underway, and he has no intention of sitting down at the table to discuss this issue. But when the war ends... After all, this isn’t like with Nazi Germany, when the Ukrainian army stands on Red Square and holds its parade. The situation here is different; it’s important to drive the aggressor out of our country," Karis emphasized.
He added that Russia must be forced into a situation where "it will be compelled to negotiate and seek a resolution to this war, so that it can pack up and go back to where it came from."
What led up to
- As a reminder, Estonian President Karis previously stated that Europe made a mistake in the spring of 2022 and missed the best opportunity for peace talks between Ukraine and Russia.
- Prior to this, Kariss stated that Europe must begin preparing now to resume dialogue with Russia once its war against Ukraine has ended. He suggested that the Russian-Ukrainian war could end "tomorrow or in a few years, but in any case, we must be ready for it."
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Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna stated that President Karis's position on dialogue with Russia runs counter to the country's foreign policy.
