"If we're now seeing, for the umpteenth time, that there are differing opinions between Kadriorg and the executive branch and these are being aired in the news media, then it's entirely legitimate to ask what the issue is and why coordination is failing," said Raimond Kaljulaid.

"Why are the foreign minister and the prime minister unable to ensure that all key figures influencing Estonia's foreign policy are on the same page when it comes to matters of vital national security interest? This is, without question, a major failure on the part of the executive," Kaljulaid continued.

"No one thinks that President Alar Karis is acting maliciously or trying to deliberately sow division in foreign policy. In this case, it gives the impression of a leadership crisis or disarray — something that has unfortunately also appeared in many other areas. It's just that now, it has reached foreign policy," Kaljulaid noted.

He added that regardless of Karis' remarks in Dubai, coordination in foreign policy must be restored.

"It's not normal for Estonia's foreign minister to repeatedly issue condemnatory or critical statements about the head of state who is a highly respected representative of Estonia. That clearly indicates the foreign minister is not managing their responsibilities properly," Kaljulaid said.

According to Kaljulaid, part of the conflict may stem from an attempt to score points in domestic politics. "There's a hint, in the foreign minister's comments, of a publicly discussed media strategy — seeking value-based conflicts as a way to gain advantages in domestic politics," he said.

"That kind of thing is totally out of place in the context of foreign policy. A line needs to be drawn before it starts to spread and become routine. No one should ever think that escalating a foreign policy issue for the sake of scoring points at home is acceptable. That should never be part of Estonia's political culture," Kaljulaid emphasized.

In his view, another factor behind the conflict could be the coalition's unwillingness to see Alar Karis serve a second term as president.

"That might be one of the reasons why some political forces feel the need to amplify their disagreements with the head of state," Kaljulaid said.

"Otherwise, they'd be faced with the uncomfortable question of why a head of state who enjoys considerable public support and respect is, for some reason, not deemed suitable for a second term," he added.

On a European special envoy

Commenting on President Alar Karis' interview with Euronews — in which the head of state spoke about the need for a European Union special envoy to take part in Ukraine war peace negotiations — Raimond Kaljulaid said the idea itself has been under ongoing discussion in Europe.

"There's been public talk for some time now that certain EU member states and leaders have been considering the need to agree on who would be the person to sit at the table, if necessary, to represent Europe and, if needed, take part in talks with Russia and President Putin," Kaljulaid said.

According to him, the thinking is that if the United States, Russia and Ukraine begin to move closer toward a concrete agreement, then Europe's potential interests would be best represented through such an envoy.

At the same time, Kaljulaid noted that there is considerable ambiguity around the search for a potential representative.

"To this day, it's completely unclear to me what the process is, what the negotiation format would be and what the intended purpose is for appointing such a representative. It's also unclear why this search is even taking place. The European Union already has the External Action Service, the Commission and the leaders of its member states. Why is there a need to launch a recruitment process like this? And who exactly is conducting it and where are people supposed to send their résumés if they think they qualify to be a special negotiator?" he asked.

Kaljulaid also pointed out that the search for an EU special envoy has not been publicly debated in Estonia.

"I haven't seen any discussion of this at the level of the Riigikogu, in society at large or in public discourse," he said.

"Whether the president and government have discussed this between themselves, I naturally don't know. But what we all expect is that, before taking such positions, there should be domestic consultation aimed at reaching a common understanding of how Estonia should view and approach this proposal or process," Kaljulaid added.

Territories

Regarding President Alar Karis' interview with U.S. television network NBC where he stated that Ukraine should decide for itself on any possible territorial concessions to Russia, Raimond Kaljulaid said the president's message had been partially misunderstood.

"My understanding of what the president meant was, first, that Estonia has no intention of recognizing any territorial concessions or acknowledging as legitimate the territories occupied by Russia. And second, that if any agreements are made regarding territory, those decisions are up to Ukraine alone because it is Ukrainians who are doing the fighting and bearing the losses in this war," Kaljulaid said.

He added that just as important as territorial matters are Ukraine's sovereignty and the security guarantees it receives.

"President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other Ukrainian officials have also said that while there is now broad agreement with Western allies and partners on the package of security guarantees and most of the economic questions and regulatory frameworks are in place, the issue of territory remains one of the most difficult unresolved problems," Kaljulaid said.

"Unavoidably, if both sides are genuinely interested in ending active hostilities in the near future, then the question of territory must be addressed as part of any agreement — one way or another. Otherwise, the war will simply continue," he added.

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