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Estonia has never before had as many friends as it has now, chairman of the Riigikogu foreign affairs committee Marko Mihkelson said in an interview with the Russian news desk of BNS Estonia.
Mihkelson: Estonia has more friends than ever
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"The world doesn't stand still of course, alliances change, the positions of countries change depending on what is going on around them. But I believe that never before has Estonia had so many good friends, partners and allies as now. To ensure one's security it's very important to have as many good friends and partners as possible among other countries," Mihkelson said answering a question whether he agrees with the claim that countries do not have friends, only allies and partners.
"One speaks a lot in our country about values. We are a small country and we cannot have big interests all over the world. For us it's very important that we find common language more easily with those countries that share our positions and values than with those countries that see the development of democratic institutions a little differently," Mihkelson said.
While not all countries of the world are democratic, Estonia has to communicate with many different countries, including China, which has chosen its own path of development. "Or Russia, which has lots of difficulties ensuring the principles of rule of law. But it's not within our power to change what is going on in one country or another. We must understand their history, culture, religion, and understand what can be changed and what can't. And I believe that when you respect yourself, others will respect you too. When you have a clear and principled foreign policy, even if we're speaking of a country as small as Estonia, you will be taken seriously," the Pro Patria and Res Publica Union (IRL) MP said.
"As a historian I can say that we are faced with very difficult times when we will need both good friends and good relations with other countries. Therefore it is in our interest to have normal, good-neighborly relations with all neighbors. The process that we can now see in Estonian-Russian relations is positive, but there's still a long way to go," Mihkelson said.
The interview was conducted in Russian language on May 20.