A representative from each parliamentary party participated in the "Esimene stuudio" debate on security policy broadcast on Wednesday, where Karis' comments, published by EuroNews earlier in the day, were discussed.

The outlet reported that both Karis and Latvian Prime Minister Evika Siliņa voiced support for the idea of Europe taking part in the negotiations to end the war in Ukraine with a special European envoy.

"The issue is not so much about creating a new role, but rather that Europe has to be more prominent in the [negotiating] process," the Office of the President later clarified to ERR.

However, Minister of Foreign Affairs Margus Tsahkna (Eesti 200) is completely against the idea and called the suggestions "dangerous" last month when the subject was first raised.

France, Italy, Austria, Luxembourg and the Czech Republic are among those who have supported the idea of direct negotiations with Russia to avoid dependence on the White House, EuroNews wrote.

Minister of Defense Hanno Pevkur (Reform) told "Esimene stuudio" that Estonia's position towards Russia has not changed.

"Estonia's policy is very clear, there is no doubt about that, and I also watched that interview and what the president said. Putting aside the various possible interpretations — whether he meant that the European Union must have one representative at the negotiating table to achieve peace, or whether he meant going and speaking directly with Russia — our position has not changed in any way. Our task right now is to help Ukraine reach a stronger position for peace negotiations and to support Ukraine in those negotiations as much as possible, including by offering Ukraine security guarantees. So Estonia's foreign policy toward Russia has not shifted in the slightest," Pevkur said.

Jevgeni Ossinovski, a member of the opposition Social Democratic Party, said there should be no confusion with Estonia's foreign policy.

"I think the significance of this message itself should not be overstated in objective terms, but what is definitely regrettable is that in a small country like Estonia, where security is an existential issue, the different centers of power, of which there are very few in the Republic of Estonia, should speak with one voice The fact that we have a lack of coordination between the president and the government on such matters, whether that stems from the individuals' own positions or something else, is undoubtedly a serious problem for Estonia. Estonia's strength as a small country lies in our ability to speak sensibly and to speak with a united voice," Ossinovski said.

Kalev Stoicescu, a member of coalition party Eesti 200, agreed with Ossinovski but was against the president's proposal.

"We have one foreign policy, and such ideas do not align with it. In my view, it is unnecessary. I see no fundamental or practical benefit we could get from this. We saw on TV that the Russian side had GRU General Igor Kostyukov sitting at the table. Do we want someone senior, like Kaja Kallas, sitting there talking to General Kostyukov? Besides, very clear agreements have been on the table for a long time, U.S. security guarantees for Ukraine and so on, so do we really need to jump on that train at the last minute? I do not see much point," he said.

Urmas Reinsalu, chairman of the opposition party Isamaa and former foreign minister, also said mixed messaging among the Baltic states is unacceptable.

"The current situation is not acceptable in two respects. First, at the level of prime ministers, the Baltic states should have a unified position on such a vital issue. The Latvian prime minister's position, however it is interpreted, clearly differed from what our Ministry of Foreign Affairs has stated. That is not okay. Prime ministers meet regularly, and the minimum that should be achieved, also in our interest, is a shared Baltic security stance on such matters. Second, the divergence between the president and the government, or the state's previous position, is not acceptable, because we lose critical credibility – end of story," Reinsalu said.

The Isamaa chairman added that the leaking of differing views to the world makes the Estonian state more fragile.

"I think it undermines our weight at a critical time of paradigmatic shifts, where we currently stand. Therefore, the head of government is also responsible for coordinating the country's foreign policy, both in publicly conveying it and in terms of domestic positions. In reality, the communication coming out of Estonia is not unified, and that is a problem," Reinsalu said.

Chairman of the opposition Center party Mihhail Kõlvart pointed out that the European Union's official position is that Europe must be at the table for Ukraine peace talks, but so far the bloc has been ignored.

"That means Europe is not part of the big game. A couple of days ago we celebrated the anniversary of the Tartu Peace Treaty, and that was only possible because negotiations took place. The question is whether Europe has a representative like we once had in Jaan Poska, and whether there are politicians in Europe today who would take on such a burden and responsibility. The bigger issue is that we once again showed that on major questions like security, the state's institutions can send different signals in the course of a single day," Kõlvart said.

He also highlighted the upcoming presidential elections in connection with the strong reaction from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"In my opinion, this is not institutionally or diplomatically normal. And if the real motive is to discredit the president in the context of the presidential election, then that's a double problem," Kõlvart said.

Mart Helme, a member of the opposition EKRE party, said Tsahkna overreacted.

"My feeling is that the overreaction came primarily from the foreign minister. I do not think the foreign minister should have spoken so harshly or reacted so hysterically, quite literally. The president made it very clear that this does not mean abandoning Ukraine. It does not mean stopping support for Ukraine. All those essential points were in his message, just as they were in the Latvian prime minister's message. The question was whether Europe should be at the table, and his position was yes, Europe should be at the table, and I say the same. Europe must be at the table. The idea has been proposed by Emmanuel Macron, Stubb has been suggested as a negotiator, Mario Draghi has been suggested, and several names have been floated. The topic is indeed on the table," he said, adding that Karis's remarks were not surprising.

Helme believes it is important that Europe participates in the Ukraine peace negotiations.

"Karis actually has quite good contacts in Washington, and I think he is asked or received some information from there about how they would react to this, and I think the answer has been: positively, because we want to reach peace. In my opinion, it is the foreign minister who has stirred up all this dust, and frankly, his language has been inappropriate, 'scraping at the door,' and no one is scraping at any door. EU member states would agree on authorizing a person with international experience, authority, and all the other necessary qualities to conduct these negotiations on behalf of the EU, so that we are at the table, not on the table," he explained.

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