Liimets: Preparations underway for ratification of border agreement

Minister of Foreign Affairs Eva-Maria Liimets. Photo: Sander Ilvest

Minister of Foreign Affairs Eva-Maria Liimets said on the “Otse Postimehest” webcast on Tuesday that Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine being approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) would change nothing for Estonia in the coming months.

“Available production volumes have been all but sold out to the best of my knowledge. And as we have heard from the health minister, the vaccines deficit should be greatly alleviated by fall,” Liimets explained.

We are living in the midst of a very serious health crisis today. The Czech Republic and Slovakia have sent COVID-19 patients to receive treatment abroad. We do not know what might happen here, but have such scenarios been discussed with other countries?

We saw countries help each other back in spring. The Czechs took in patients from France back then – cooperation is active and any requests for aid need to be seriously considered.

Does it seem that some countries have started looking out for number one in the crisis?

Every country is first concerned with its own public health situation. We have noticed other topics, such as travel or free movement take a back seat in the crisis. But there have been developments since spring when we used to have issues with transit. We have no such problems today. There are still restrictions when it comes to free movement of people.

Why have the problems of people who commute to Finland not been solved?

Finnair has been allowing people to board its planes if they can produce a negative test result since January 23, while the same principle has been in effect on ferries since February 23. A mutual working group is trying to find ways to alleviate travel restrictions and come up with trust measures so we could restart free movement. That is the goal we are all working toward, to allow people to live in one country, work in the other and move between the two. But it will take a little more time.

The government has decided to lock down Estonia. Should air travel be restricted in kind?

How should we ban air traffic exactly? The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has urged people not to travel unless absolutely necessary since the start of the coronavirus crisis. Therefore, while we should retain air travel, people should not trave if possible.

[Russia’s] Sputnik V vaccine makes for a hot topic today and was recently described as an element of hybrid warfare by an adviser to the president of Ukraine. Do you agree?

Estonia has decided to only use vaccines that have been approved by the European Medicines Agency. It is very good that Russia has its own vaccine it can use to immunize its people. As to the extent to which it is used in foreign relations… That aspect is not dominant enough to warrant treatment.

Will Estonia use Sputnik V should it be greenlit by EMA?

Russia’s production volumes have been all but sold out to the best of my knowledge. Just as we are seeing regarding vaccines that have already been approved and are being used – it would change virtually nothing for us in the context of the next few months. And as we have heard from the health minister, the vaccines deficit should be greatly alleviated by fall.

What should be the state of Estonia-Russia relations?

Russia is Estonia’s neighbor and having good relations matters a great deal to Estonia. However, we cannot accept Russia’s violation of international law, possible use of chemical weapons and human rights violations. I believe that Estonia has chosen a balanced and sensible long-term policy here, which I plan to uphold as foreign minister.

What to make of Aleksey Navalny’s situation and the EU’s reaction? Have sanctions been sufficient?

It was a significant move by the EU to impose sanctions following very serious violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms. I’m sure they are having an effect.

Do you believe that sanctions policy can be successful?

It is a clear sign of what we make of certain steps, with sanctions used to give weight to one’s words.

The French urged Germany to drop the Nord Stream II project following Navalny’s arrest and quashing of protests, while it was no use. The project seems to have become utterly inevitable?

We see it as a political project and while Estonia can condone free market energy projects, we cannot support politically motivated projects.

You said a few weeks back that Estonia could take the first step toward ratifying the Estonia-Russia border agreement, while the process should take place simultaneously in Russia. Do you believe it is possible to pursue constructive cooperation with the Russian side?

The government is prepared to move forward with the 2014 border agreement. But it is crucial for the ratification process to take place in both countries simultaneously. Preparations are being made on the diplomatic level. We will have to wait and see when it comes to the other side’s willingness.