Kionka made her remarks the same day opposition Social Democratic Party (SDE) leader Lauri Läänemets told Delfi the coalition Reform Party had called on his party to propose her as a presidential candidate.

Kionka told ERR that while friends have "toyed with the idea", no political party has contacted her about a potential presidential run.

As to whether she would answer the call if she were asked to run, Kionka said that she thought current incumbent Alar Karis, eligible for a second term, is a good head of state.

Kionka declined to comment on any potential candidate either she personally or Estonia's foreign policy circles more broadly might prefer. "As someone serving in the European Union, it would not be appropriate for me right now to interfere in the internal affairs of any member state, including in Estonia," Kionka said.

Läänemets told Delfi the Reform Party asked his party to submit Kionka's name as a possible presidential candidate, adding his party was not going to be the fall guy for anything like this.

"It was the Reform Party that asked us to put that name forward. Personally, I'm not familiar at all with who this person is. /.../ I can't say why they don't want to put the name forward themselves, but the Social Democrats are not some pocket party of the Reform Party. This is a very big mistake—they still don't understand after 20 years that they can't just take any party and do whatever they want with it," Läänemets told Delfi.

Reform Party minister: I'm also hearing about Kionka candidacy for first time

Reform's Finance Minister Jürgen Ligi denied that his party had made the proposal Läänemets said it had, accusing Läänemets of spreading rumors. He also called it "alarming" that Läänemets did not know who Kionka was.

"The 'squirrels' (Reform's nickname – ed.) have not proposed Riina Kionka to the SDE. But as a diplomat she would represent one important dimension of the presidency well. It is not known that she would not represent other dimensions as well, but none of this has been under discussion," Ligi wrote on his social media account.

"I'm hearing about Riina Kionka's candidacy for the first time. But every politician should know this about her: She is one of Estonia's most distinguished and brilliant diplomats. It should now be clear who raised her candidacy. That person knows what they are talking about and also knows her personally well, but I don't want to speak for Läänemets or on his behalf. It is polite not to announce candidates in such a way that they become a tug-of-war between parties, someone's personal property, and end up getting broken," Ligi continued.

While SDE may have preferences about who the next head of state is, they lack seats and therefore votes to accomplish that, Ligi went on, adding naming names this early on was putting the cart before the horse.

"Reality is more complicated. Especially in security and foreign policy circles, there is a conviction that the foreign policy dimension of the presidency is the most important right now. Recent developments related to Kazakhstan and territories in Ukraine have been a strong impetus. For the same reason, the statements made by parties right now are not backed by those votes, because clearly many of them would move around," Ligi went on adding that this is the reason negotiations on common ground with candidates and votes takes place before names are announced, not after.

Reform MP: Kionka's name will be written in history in larger type than that of Läänemets or even Karis

Reform MP Kristo Enn Vaga meanwhile said Läänemets should apologize to Kionka, the foreign service, and to the public.

"It was odd to read in the news, while returning from Ukraine, Lauri Läänemets saying that the Reform Party is proposing Riina Kionka as a presidential candidate to the Social Democrats. Odder still is that Lauri Läänemets has no idea who Riina Kionka is, saying dismissively about a highly experienced diplomat and successful woman that he personally has no idea who this person is — someone who helped build the foreign ministry in the early years of Estonia's restored independence and has spent the past two decades in high positions in the European External Action Service, both as an adviser to the President of the European Council and as the European Union ambassador to South Africa and Pakistan. I believe Lauri Läänemets owes Riina Kionka, the foreign service, and the public an apology. Because in history, I fear, Lauri Läänemets will be written in smaller letters than Riina Kionka or many others, including the respected President of the Republic, Alar Karis," Vaga said.

Isamaa chair: This 'intrigue' was not what we agreed

Urmas Reinsalu, leader of the opposition Isamaa, said this level of intrigue was not in line with what had been agreed at the meeting of parliamentary parties on the issue of the presidential elections.

"At the table there, no party ruled out the incumbent president as a candidate, and no other candidates were proposed. Some parties (including the Reform Party) did want to know Alar Karis' position before making a decision. Now it seems that in the corridors a completely different agenda has been adopted, which they then wanted to carry out, as it were, through the hands of the Social Democrats — though that did not suit them. This does not correspond to what was agreed at the parties' meeting," Reinsalu said.

It is time for Reform to stop playing games, as this only serves to deepen the crisis of trust in society, the Isamaa chair went on.

"Alar Karis has managed to earn broad trust in society. It would be responsible for political forces to recognize society's expectations," Reinsalu said.

Läänemets: Reform holds the cards as biggest party

Despite Läänemets' criticisms of the Reform Party, he did say that the latter would be the deciding factor in who the next president will be, naming Prime Minister Kristen Michal and State Secretary Keit Kasemets as among the decision makers.

As the largest party by seats, Reform holds a blocking minority in the Riigikogu, giving it significant influence in the presidential election process, he noted.

SDE MP Raimond Kaljulaid wrote on his social media account that it is currently impossible to predict who might become Estonia's next leader.

"One can predict that sooner or later such a strong leader and driver will emerge and be found. It simply cannot be otherwise. Who will it be? That cannot be predicted. It will take shape depending on which party leader the people of Estonia see as someone who can be trusted more broadly than just among that party's supporters and fans. For example, Andrus Ansip was such a politician—many people respected him even among those who did not vote for the Reform Party (of course many hated him as well, but that comes with politics). To win a leadership position, a party must have a vision—an idea of Estonia that is supported more broadly than just by one party's fans. In some sense, that party's policy must become cross-party consensus politics, something others agree with and follow as well," Kaljulaid wrote.

Kionka's term as EU ambassador to Pakistan ended last August, and she has been working for the European External Action Service in Brussels since then, speechwriting for High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas.

Estonia's presidents are decided by Riigikogu ballot, extending to a regional electoral college if those ballots prove inconclusive. The presidential election process will begin at the end of summer. The next Riigikogu election is the following March.

Background:

A rift emerged from late last year between the president and the foreign ministry. At the end of 2025, confusion arose during Karis' state visit to Kazakhstan when Estonian ambassador Jaap Ora advised the president to refrain from making statements about supporting Ukraine. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs later announced that the ambassador had decided to resign.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Margus Tsahkna (Eesti 200) was also critical of Karis' statement that Hungary should be supported in withdrawing from its energy agreement with Russia and helped in paying any penalties arising from the contract.

Further disagreements emerged after interviews Karis gave to foreign media in early February during a visit to Dubai. In them, he said a European Union representative should also take part in discussions with the United States, Ukraine and Russia on ending the war, and that Ukraine must at some point decide for itself on the possible cession of its territory to Russia.

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