On January 23 President Petro Poroshenko paid a one-day official visit to Estonia to negotiate with the country’s leaders and meet with the local Ukrainian community. The Ukrainian president secured Tallinn’s support in what concerns the preservation of the EU sanctions against Russia and the earliest possible introduction of visa-free travels for Ukrainians to the EU.
At a joint press conference, as well as in both presidents’ joint statement, Estonia’s Kersti Kaljulaid said that the restrictive sanctions against Russia could only be lifted when Russia respects the principles of international law and fulfils the Minsk accords. She also expressed certainty that the change of leadership in the US should not result in changing this policy, because “international political rules are not affected by the results of elections.”
On his part, the president of Ukraine thanked Estonia for such a resolute stand.
According to him, while Ukraine is the object of Russian aggression, it needs global, European, and trans-Atlantic solidarity, “until the liberation of Ukraine’s territory from the Russian aggressor, full withdrawal of Russian troops, and restoration of Ukraine’s control over the violated segment of the border between Ukraine and Russia.”
During the negotiations with Ukraine’s head of state Estonia’s Prime Minister Juri Ratas also emphasized the importance of peaceful settlement of the conflict in the east of Ukraine. According to Ratas, to this end Estonia will do its best when it presides over the EU later this year.
“For Estonia Ukraine has always been a significant partner, whose fate is very important for us and to whose well-being we make a maximal contribution, be it defense and economic cooperation between the two countries, the support for Ukrainian reforms, or the introduction of a visa-free regime with the EU,” emphasized Ratas.
The Day asked Vira KONYK, President of the Congress of Ukrainians in Estonia, to comment on the importance of this visit and tell how this Baltic state managed to integrate with the EU and NATO so quickly and also to become a leader in electronic governance.
“THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR OF ESTONIA’S SUCCESS WAS THE REPLACEMENT OF THE SOVIET NOMENKLATURA”
“This visit is quite important. Firstly, the Estonian president has only been a couple of months in office, and the president of Ukraine is among the first invited to pay a visit to Tallinn. Thus Estonia demonstrates its stand and its support of Ukraine. All this matters quite a lot.
“Secondly, in the second half of 2017 Estonia will preside over the European Union. Both presidents emphasized this fact during their press conference as they discussed the prospects for bilateral cooperation. They expressed hope that during its presidency over the EU Estonia will get somewhat broader powers and thus will have more opportunity to do something for Ukraine.
“Thirdly, Estonia has seen a change of government. After the impeachment of the previous prime minister who represented the party of reforms, the Center Party came to power, which had long been in opposition. Because it had signed a cooperation agreement with Putin’s United Russia party, no other political force would work together with it. Now the Center Party is led by Juri Ratas, who in the run-up to Petro Poroshenko’s visit assured in his televised address that Estonia will keep backing Ukraine. Thus we can speak of the continuity of Estonia’s foreign policy, including its relations with Ukraine.
“Summing up the meeting of Ukraine’s president with the leaders of Estonia one can say that this was a demonstration of support for Ukraine. Moreover, I got an impression that, against the backdrop of all the global developments across the world (an unpredictable president in the US, the looming elections in France which can produce a government that will not back Ukraine), Kyiv is looking for really reliable partners. Meanwhile, the Baltic States, Estonia in particular, have always backed Ukraine on all levels, as a government and as society.
“It is possible to say that this visit might be a step towards Balto-Pontic cooperation. Given the developments in the EU, in particular Brexit and the growing populist sentiment, it seems as if more local alliances are taking shape at the moment. That is why President Poroshenko’s next visit to Finland looks quite logical: it is also a potential ally. In its turn, that country senses a threat from Russia and is inclined to join NATO. Thus, a closer cooperation with Ukraine looks possible.”
What made fast transformation in Estonia possible, as well as joining the EU and NATO and becoming a leader in e-governance?
“In fact, that was what Estonians strove for. Of course, the 1990s were very complicated due to the breach of all ties, economic first of all. Yet in this country young reformers came to power at once, all the Soviet nomenklatura was replaced. To my mind, the most important factor of Estonia’s success was the replacement of the Soviet nomenklatura which was unable to adjust to new reality.
“That was when a very young team came to power, and Mart Laar became prime minister at 32. When I asked him how he succeeded, he answered simply, ‘We were anxious to depart from the Soviet Union. We were eager to gain independence. We wanted very much to join the EU and NATO, which were the only structures capable of defending Estonia’s independence.’
“Another crucial moment was that Estonia never got an oligarchic clan. Besides, Estonia never had (and still does not have) such corruption which the other Soviet republics had. When a corrupt official is unmasked, they are brought to account.
“It was important that the people were told the truth, they heard about the hardships and were not promised a bed of roses. At the same time the government took real steps and explained to the people what is being done and to which end.
“However, my opinion is that the people’s staunch support of the drive for independence was the most important factor. Estonians longed for autonomy, independence, and their own state.
“It should be mentioned that the first government assumed full responsibility and faced all the popular discontent in the first stages of the implementation of reforms, when things went from bad to worse. Yet in two years they laid the foundations of the transformation and held a new election. Another government came to power, while the party of reformers took the blow and stepped down. It was a wise policy.
“Estonia has always offered to share its expertise with Ukraine, which is priceless. There is no need to invent a bicycle and of course, it cannot mechanically be transplanted into Ukrainian reality, but it needs to be adjusted in one way or another. Yet I have got an impression that Ukraine has few experts prepared to engage in reform, and for some reason they will not learn.”
