Estonia plans to sign a bilateral agreement on security guarantees under the Group of Seven (G7) Joint Declaration of Support for Ukraine, Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said on March 8 during a joint press conference in Vilnius.
Foreign ministers of Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and France met on March 8 to discuss further help to Ukraine amid the ongoing Russia’s full-scale invasion.
"We are going to sign a bilateral agreement between Estonia and Ukraine for a long-term commitment as well. Estonia has poured 1.4% of its GDP into Ukraine to support its victory, and we will continue," Tsahkna said.
Estonia has been one of the leading military donors to Ukraine in terms of share of GDP since the beginning of the all-out war in 2022. Tallinn pledged in January to allocate 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion) for Kyiv until the year 2027, a major commitment from a country of 1.3 million people.
Tsahkna also announced that the Estonian government will approve a new military aid package for Ukraine next week.
"When we are signing a bilateral agreement between Estonia and Ukraine, we are promising and taking a commitment of 0.25% of (Estonian) GDP military support per year," the Estonian foreign minister added.
Tsahkna also urged other allies to contribute, saying that 120 billion euros
($131.2 billion) of military support per year "would be enough for Ukraine to push back Russia."
The Group of Seven (G7) members agreed on a joint declaration on "security guarantees" for Ukraine on July 12, 2023, at the NATO summit in Vilnius, aiming to entail explicit and long-lasting obligations to bolster Ukraine's ability to resist Russian aggression.
Tallinn earlier delivered Javelin anti-tank missiles, ammunition, and other military aid to Ukraine as part of an 80 million euros ($86 million) military aid package approved in December.
Daniela Schwarzer
