Minister: War criminal Putin's place is in The Hague
Russian leader Vladimir Putin's future lies at a war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Minister of Foreign Affairs Margus Tsahkna (Eesti 200) said.
Tsahkna made his remarks ahead of today's meeting in Washington between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, with the question of when and whether to provide BGM-109 Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine among the issues in the air.
However, Trump also spoke to Putin on the phone Thursday, later calling the conversation productive.
"Estonia's support for Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty is unwavering. We will never accept changes to borders brought about by force. Ukraine's future lies in the European Union and NATO, and the future of Putin — wanted for war crimes — lies in The Hague, at the International Criminal Court," Tsahkna said.
"Estonia supports efforts to achieve a just and lasting peace in Ukraine and welcomes all initiatives in that direction. The only path to a just peace is through putting pressure on the aggressor and supporting Ukraine — something Estonia works toward every day together with its allies and partners," the minister went on via a press release.
"Only when Russia understands that aggression is a dead end and its goals are unattainable will there be hope for ending the aggression. To achieve this, the European Union's 19th sanctions package must be approved swiftly, Russia's frozen assets must be put to use, and steps must be taken toward holding the aggressor accountable," Tsahkna added.
Zelenskyy has called on the U.S. to provide Ukraine with Tomahawks, some of whose variants have a range of 2,500 km and so would likely be a game-changer, while progress has been made in land-based options: Tomahawk was originally launched from naval vessels, something which Ukraine lacks.
"We'll see... I may," was what Trump said earlier in the week when asked whether the missiles would be forthcoming, and Trump also spoke to Putin on the phone Thursday, saying "great progress" had been made. He later told reporters he expected to meet Putin in Hungary "within two weeks".
Zelenskyy meanwhile found Moscow was "rushing to resume dialogue as soon as it hears about Tomahawks".
Meanwhile, Ukraine remains under attack. The preceding 24 hours had seen Russia launch dozens of missiles and more than 300 drones, the BBC reported.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte
