Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs calls on NATO to spend more on defense

Urmas Reinsalu, head of Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs told the BBC.

"Autocrats invest in weapons. They believe in the power of weapons. To protect our values ​​and rules-based order, we also need to invest in weapons", Reinsalu said.

Minister noted that the number of troops should not be reduced, but increased, in order to avoid "any wrongly interpreted signals regarding Russia." According to him, it is important that NATO countries start spending 3% of GDP on defense.

Head of the Foreign Ministry also called on the West to increase aid to Ukraine and send more heavy weapons.

"We need to look towards a Ukrainian victory. Then we will not be ashamed to look ourselves [in the] mirror”, the minister added.

• On October 20, mass media reported that Poland, together with Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, developed another package of sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. The next package of sanctions against Russia includes, in particular, a ban on nuclear cooperation and import of Russian diamonds. 

• On October 26, mass media reported that Estonia will install threat warning sirens in 22 populated areas of the country.