EDITORIAL ⟩ So let's invite Trump to Tallinn!

This spring's presidential fashion, Kalevipoeg, is orange-blond quiff flying in the wind. Illustration: Urmas Nemvalts

At Pope Francis' funeral service, Estonia saw several favorable diplomatic opportunities open up. But serious work must continue.

Sometimes, one just needs a bit of luck. Estonia has been fortunate in that, in French, the historical language of international diplomacy, Estonie is listed alphabetically next to the United States (États-Unis). This is why President Alar Karis sat next to the US presidential couple at Pope Francis' funeral service on Saturday.

Simply having luck is usually not enough, of course – a good opportunity that falls into one's lap must not let go by, but rather seized. This is exactly what Karis did; he didn't just pose for a photo with famous faces but also spoke with Donald Trump after the ceremony about the Ukraine peace plan and transatlantic relations, and invited him to visit Estonia – receiving in return an invitation to Washington.

What happens next will depend on the efforts of diplomats – whether and when Trump will actually come to Estonia. At this point, it is likely difficult to say whether a visit to this part of the world can be fitted into the US president's busy schedule.

But it's somewhat like the Eurovision Song Contest – we must be prepared for the possibility that we might actually win it. Similarly, we must be ready for the possibility that Trump might indeed come to Tallinn. For such an occasion, we must have a plan for what we want to achieve during the visit.

We must be ready for the possibility that Trump might indeed come to Tallinn. For such an occasion, we must have a plan for what we want to achieve during the visit.

It is also very good that Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Rome, with whom he had a fifteen-minute conversation before the funeral service, their first face-to-face meeting since the infamous press conference at the White House. Afterwards, Trump unusually sharply criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin and voiced a suspicion that Putin might not want to achieve peace. But here, too, even more important is what happens next, how the conversation between the presidents develops further in diplomatic channels.

From our perspective, Russia's diplomatic misstep likely also worked in our favor, as our eastern neighbor sent their minister of culture, Olga Lyubimova, to represent them at the pope's funeral. Of course, for a wanted war criminal like Putin, traveling is complicated, and even if he had wished to attend, it would likely have been impossible. However, sending at least a somewhat higher-level delegation would have been a matter of basic courtesy.

Postimees believes that President Alar Karis made good use of the opportunity that fell into his lap, but for it to be a complete success, both the Office of the President and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs still have a considerable amount of work to do. In any case, one can be sure that if Trump sees Tallinn with his own eyes, it will no longer be just some random place in a tough neighborhood somewhere far away for him.