Paet: External intervention in Syria last resort

Photo: Liis Treimann

Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet said that external military intervention is the last resort while talking to his Finnish colleague Erkki Tuomioja in Helsinki about the situation in Syria.

«All such conflicts can be resolved only by means of political agreements but it is clear that those political or diplomatic efforts during two and a half years have led nowhere. But these must definitely be carried on. At the same time the use of chemical weapons in the future has to be excluded,» he stressed. «Using a chemical weapon under whatever circumstances is shameful and completely unacceptable, and Estonia has explicitly condemned the brutal attack against civilians,» Paet said. He added that Estonia continues to give humanitarian aid to Syrian refugees.

Paet and Tuomioja stressed that in Egypt the primary goal is to avoid violence spreading further, spokespeople for the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs told BNS. According to Paet all conflict parties need to make an effort to find a peaceful solution. «It is important to involve all political forces to the political dialogue and the process of restoring democratic institutions,» he said. The two foreign ministers found that it is necessary to continue the dialogue between the European Union and the government of Egypt.

Talking about bilateral relations the ministers were glad about the strengthening special relationship between Estonia and Finland.

According the Paet the important topics concerning the cooperation between Estonia and Finland are the building of Estlink 2, Rail Baltic and cooperation in the field of cyber defense. «In the long run Estonia and Finland have a good opportunity to set an example to the European Union in creating cross-border services and a transnational joint information space. With such well-working solutions we can revive the development of Europe's joint digital market,» Paet said.

Of the Baltic Sea region's multilateral cooperation formats the ministers considered important both the Council of the Baltic Sea States as well as the cooperation between the Nordic and Baltic countries. «The different cooperation formats of the Baltic Sea region should be more visible, the distribution of roles more clear and the activities more coordinated,» he added.