Estonian formin in Washington: Aggressor must lose its economic capacity to wage war

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken talks with Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna at the start of a meeting at the US State Department in Washington, DC, on March 25, 2024. Photo: Mandel Ngan / AFP / Scanpix

Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna met with Deputy National Security Adviser of the White House Daleep Singh in Washington on Tuesday to discuss raising the cost of the war for Russia by imposing new sanctions and using frozen assets.

Tsahkna said that the outcome of Russia’s aggression will determine how autocrats around the world assess their chances of success in changing national borders by force.

"We must send a clear message that aggression always ends in economic decline and devastating defeat," Tsahkna said at the meeting.

He said that in order to turn the tide on the battlefield we need to impose additional sanctions against Russia and prevent the circumvention of existing sanctions.

"The aggressor must lose its economic capacity to wage war," the minister added.

While in Washington, Tsahkna also met with Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo to speak about sanctions policy and using frozen Russian assets. Tsahkna said that as Russia has violated all norms of international law and caused unspeakable horrors with its brutal war in Ukraine, it is necessary to use all options to pressure Russia and help Ukraine.

“Using the frozen assets is the only way to make Russia pay for the destruction it has caused,” Tsahkna said.

During his Washington visit, the minister also had a meeting with entrepreneurs to speak about Estonia’s e-governance, digitalization and cyber security. The international security situation was discussed in meetings with representatives of think tanks, such as the Hudson Institute, Heritage Foundation and the Atlantic Council.

The Estonian embassy also hosted a discussion with the students and professors of Georgetown University, where the agenda included a presentation of Estonia’s Fit for Freedom initiative.