Karis to Forbes Ukraine: The only escalation can be nuclear escalation

President Alar Karis at a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi on Thursday, September 12 in Kyiv. Photo: Raigo Pajula / presidendi kantselei

Estonian President Alar Karis, who is visiting Ukraine, said in an interview with the Ukrainian-language edition of Forbes that when it comes to Russia, all the red lines have already been crossed and the only escalation that can be is a nuclear escalation.

The interviewer said that Ukrainians, who have been at war with Russia for two and a half years, are annoyed by the word «escalation,» which is used by many Western leaders, and asked whether Karis has heard this word from many Western leaders when trying to persuade them to be more decisive in supporting Ukraine.

«Escalation means what? The only escalation we can talk about is nuclear escalation. Other actions are not escalation. Weapons assistance for Ukraine is constantly increasing, so there are no such red lines anymore. I am convinced that Russia does not intend to use nuclear weapons,» said Karis.

According to the Estonian head of state, aggressive Russia is not only a problem for Estonia, which shares a border with Russia, but one must also keep in mind that the whole of Europe is in the neighborhood of Russia.

«This means that we all need to be prepared,» he said, adding that NATO has defense plans in place. «We have air policing. Various NATO member states are present in Estonia and conduct military exercises, etc. This is how NATO works.»

Karis said it doesn't matter how many allied forces there are in Estonia at a particular moment.

«We have an agreement with the UK that they will come when needed. But we need to prepare ourselves. Estonia spends 3.4 percent of its GDP on defense. We are increasing our military capabilities,» Karis said.

At the same time, according to the Estonian president, the most important thing is not even how much money is allocated for national defense.

«Before World War II, Estonia allocated more than 20 percent of its GDP to defense, yet the Soviet Union still occupied us. The reason is very simple: we didn't have friends back then. Now, however, we are a member of NATO and the European Union. That makes a big difference,» he added.