Ministry: Riigikogu committee and foreign minister united on Iran stance

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has rejected claims from opposition politicians of a rift between Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna's (Eesti 200) stance on Iran and that of the Riigikogu's Foreign Affairs Committee.
Urmas Reinsalu (Isamaa) had said Monday that Tsahkna had not expressed clear support for U.S. military action at a Riigikogu Foreign Affairs Committee meeting held on an extraordinary basis on Sunday, March 1.
"The Foreign Minister has fully adhered to Estonia's positions on the Middle East, which have been repeatedly discussed both by the government and with the Riigikogu Foreign Affairs Committee. There are no discrepancies between the Foreign Minister's and the Foreign Affairs Committee's positions," Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Kerstin Meresma told ERR Thursday.
"The foreign minister has repeatedly stressed that the actions of Israel and the United States demonstrate their readiness to oppose regimes which threaten regional and global security, and has noted that pressure on Iran must not ease until that country abandons aggressive foreign policy and ends the repression of its own people," Meresma added.
Tsahkna has also stressed Estonia's position that Iran must not get to possess nuclear weapons, she said, and has reiterated consistent support for EU sanctions against the Iranian regime over severe human rights violations, including brutal repression as well as military aid to Russia in its war of aggression against Ukraine — aid in a war which poses a direct threat to Europe. "Estonia condemned Iran's attacks on Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Iraq, and Jordan," Meresma went on.

Speaking to Vikerraadio show "Välistund" Monday, Reinsalu, who is a member of the Riigikogu Foreign Affairs Committee, said Tsahkna had ignored the committee's position on attacking Iran.
"My proposal was indeed, as Mr. Mihkelson noted, that we should have a clearer line regarding support for U.S. military action. I later looked at the written summary of the Foreign Affairs Council meeting and the foreign minister did not express it in that form," Reinsalu said on Monday.
The foreign affairs committee had on March 1 held an extraordinary meeting ahead of an EU Foreign Affairs Council video meeting on March 5, addressing the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, which began on the last day of February.
The foreign affairs committee's chair, Marko Mihkelson (Reform), had said MPs had reached a consensus that Estonia should support its allies the U.S. and Israel.
MPs expected Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna to present that supportive position at the EU meeting; both Reinsalu and Raimond Kaljulaid (SDE) said the European Union lacks a clear unified position on Iran.

MPs concluded that EU foreign policy remains fragmented, with member states holding very different views on defense, Iran, and broader security strategy. Messages on the Iran attacks from European leaders have ranged from calling the attack illegal to supporting regime change in Iran.
Kaljulaid additionally said similar situations, where the Riigikogu's foreign policy positions were not conveyed internationally, have occurred in the past, citing as an example Riigikogu support for Ukraine NATO membership not being presented to allies as its stance.
If the government ignores Riigikogu consensus, it undermines the purpose of parliamentary discussions, Kaljulaid said, and called for better coordination between the legislature, the executive, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Mihkelson however downplayed the issue, saying there is broad political agreement in Estonia on key security issues, including NATO membership for Ukraine.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Aleksander Krjukov









