Helme made his remarks to "Otse uudistemajast" Tuesday, following a meeting between the Riigikogu Estonia-USA Parliamentary Friendship Group and U.S. Ambassador to Estonia Roman Pipko.

"When there was a meeting with the U.S. parliamentary group and the ambassador here, Pipko, then Pipko said that the most important field of cooperation — perhaps even the only one — is rare earths or valuable mineral resources. That was the message he brought here," Helme said.

"And specifically said this is not military cooperation, because let's be honest — our military contribution is not something they need, so to speak," Helme added.

The EKRE leader noted the current major global race going on between the Americans and especially the Chinese, on artificial intelligence (AI), and the resources needed to develop that further. "These are energy resources and mineral resources. And our message should be that we are interested in this cooperation [with the U.S.]," Helme continued.

This does not mean that Estonia should simply hand its mineral resources over to the Americans, Helme added, noting that this would not happen.

"This is not a kind of thinking whereby we must give everything away, and even pay extra on top. No one has asked for that, and we must not think about it in that way. We will have to think about their know-how, financing opportunities and capital, and how we can align that with our own interests and possibilities so that Estonia can also get wealthier."

"It cannot be that our mineral resources and companies are under someone else's control. It doesn't matter whether that is Brussels, Beijing or Washington — that is completely out of the question," Helme said.

The meeting with Pipko and the Riigikogu group did not leave the impression that the Americans were interested in setting up any new bases in Estonia, Helme continued.

"Plus if we put this in the context of the war in Ukraine, then the Americans are interested in de-escalation with Russia, not escalation," he said.

The U.S. maintains a base in Võru in South Estonia (Camp Reedo).

Reform MP: Helme take on meeting 'misleading'

Also in attendance at the Riigikogu Estonia-USA Parliamentary Friendship Group meeting was Reform Party MP Hanah Lahe, who said her recollection of what was said differed significantly from Helme's recounting of it, meaning the latter's remarks on "Otse uudistemajast" were misleading.

"The themes of valuable natural resources were only touched on superficially, and neither the ambassador nor the members of the Riigikogu pursued the subject further during the meeting. Consequently, Martin Helme's claim that, after meeting with the U.S. ambassador, it is 'clear that the U.S. is only interested in our valuable natural resources' is highly misleading," Lahe told ERR Thursday.

"Nor did the ambassador make the claim that military cooperation between the U.S. and Estonia is insignificant — as Martin Helme had stated yesterday. Quite the opposite, the ambassador considered it highly significant, and stressed further that Estonia serves as a model for many other EU countries in the field of defense procurement. Members of the Riigikogu thanked the ambassador for the U.S. contribution to strengthening Estonia's defense capabilities."

This did not mean that there was no room for expressing concerns more broadly, Lahe added. "Personally, I expressed concerns over Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement and over the cessation of USAID activities. I referred to the Riigikogu's Tibet support group meeting last year in Dharamshala, India, where we met with the Tibetan government-in-exile, parliament and president — since serious concern had arisen there over the USAID cuts," Lahe went on.

"To sum up, this was an introductory meeting, the atmosphere was positive, and the discussions constructive. It seems that Martin Helme is misinterpreting what the ambassador said, as the ambassador stressed the existence and further development of good relations between Estonia and the U.S. and noted comprehensive bilateral cooperation is important," Lahe concluded.

Ambassador Pipko this week also met with Prime Minister Kristen Michal (Reform). The U.S.-Estonia partnership, regional security and defense, supporting innovation in energy and technology, and expanding bilateral trade, were all discussed.

Background:

Estonia in 2024 joined a U.S.-led rare earth metals coalition, which encourages local processing of critical minerals rather than simply exporting raw materials, and Minister of Foreign Affairs Margus Tsahkna (Eesti 200) said in early 2025 that the country should focus on mutually beneficial economic relationships with the U.S. rather than presenting itself as dependent on aid.

Developing the sector would require major investments, however, stretching perhaps into the billions of euros, meaning international capital would likely be involved, including the U.S. or European partners, depending on who offered the best terms.

Tsahkna had said while the approach serves Estonia's national interests given Estonia's vulnerable geopolitical position next to Russia, and certainly did not resemble "colonialism," a domestic political consensus and a national strategy would still need to be developed.

A counterargument is that Estonian companies should mine, refine, and manufacture products from rare earths domestically before exporting them.

Rare earth metals, also known as rare earth elements (REEs), are a group of 17 chemically similar metals which are needed in high-tech, green energy, and defense applications. They are rarely found in concentrated, minable deposits, and so are often difficult and costly to extract.

Phosphorite, found in Ida-Viru County, is an unconventional but significant source of REEs, particularly for light to middle lanthanides, which can be extracted as a byproduct of phosphate fertilizer production.

Greenland has vast and untapped REE and other mineral resources, which the Donald Trump administration has been pursuing access to, to reduce dependency on REEs from Russia and China. The latter country currently accounts for the bulk of refined REE output worldwide.

Editor's note: This piece was updated to include comment from Hanah Lahe.

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