The president made his comments while on an official visit to Finland Tuesday. Both he and Finnish President Alexander Stubb, hosting Karis, said Europe must eventually engage in dialogue with Russia on the post-Ukraine War world, and should draw lessons from mistakes made earlier on in Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Several leading Estonian politicians disagree. Minister of Foreign Affairs Margus Tsahkna (Eesti 200) told "Aktuaalne kaamera" the president's positions contradict Estonia's foreign policy.

"Alar Karis' desire to engage in dialogue with Russia is something that conflicts with the entire European and Estonian foreign policy and would instead give Putin an opportunity to present his demands, conditions, and ultimatums. And this idea that somehow a ceasefire should have been made after February 2022 — I would remind Alar Karis that at that time Putin presented ultimatums concerning Ukraine's sovereignty and territory, and also our own freedom and security guarantees in the context of NATO," Tsahkna said.

Not only coalition politicians but also opposition leaders have taken a similar line. Chairman of the opposition Isamaa Urmas Reinsalu noted that Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine is not Europe's fault.

"If we look specifically at whether Europe could somehow have been capable of achieving a halt to hostilities in the spring of 2022, I do not share that view. We can recall that bilateral negotiations did take place between Ukraine and Russia. But they broke down when Ukraine regained territory, including Bucha. In reality, the focus is on the aggressor, who to this day has shown no intention of abandoning its military and strategic objectives," Reinsalu said.

Lauri Läänemets, leader of the Social Democrats (SDE), also in opposition, identified what he called a shift in focus. "Up to now, Estonia has focused on and desired that Europe focus on how Russia might end its war of aggression in Ukraine, and to ensure there is no threat in the Baltics in the future. Now to start talking about — and to raise a debate about — how, when, at what moment, and with what context we could engage in dialogue or communication with Russia shifts the focus elsewhere," Läänemets said.

Ahead of this week's official visit, in an interview with Finnish public broadcaster Yle, Karis said Europe missed an opportunity at the start of the war in Ukraine to begin peace talks with Russia, though he also stressed the importance, and possibility, of Russia changing.

This followed comments the day before, ie. Monday, Karis made to Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat (HS), that Europe should prepare to engage with Russia once the war in Ukraine ends.

The Estonian and Finnish presidents appeared at a press conference Tuesday, where Karis reiterated that communication would take place after the war ends. "Things will not be the same as they used to be, but we do have a neighbor called Russia. If you open a map, you see that Russia remains next to us. We are not going to move away, and likely neither is Russia," he said. Karis also alluded to the so-called Hundred Years' War between Medieval England and France, noting this conflict eventually came to an end too.

Stubb meanwhile said the question, and communication with Russia in general, has been dealt with seriously, and over the past two years.

"There isn't, say, a conversation in the Coalition of the Willing or elsewhere, where we would not touch the issue of who should communicate with Russia when, where and how. Now, what we have done from a European perspective is to outsource this role to the United States. And because of the war in Iran, that conversation is now on a low burner," Stubb said.

The Finnish head of state also noted the need for a united front in Europe. " In other words, that no one does a solo act in Europe. We have seen a few of those and they don't usually work. And the framing of all of this, and the question that we have to ask ourselves is, where is America's relations with Russia going versus where is Europe's with Russia going," he said. Stubb also noted Ukraine's more recent strong performance on the battlefield, adding Europe has a lot to learn from this.

Background:

In December 2021, Russia issued a list of demands widely seen as an ultimatum to NATO and the U.S., principally on the alliance's enlargement. This in particular according to Russia must not include Ukraine, and also, significantly with regard to Estonia and, from 2023 when it joined the alliance, Finland too, that NATO deploy no forces or weapons in countries that joined the alliance after May 1997. Estonia joined NATO in 2004. A ban on intermediate missiles was also a part of the demands.

Proposals for peace talks started early on after the invasion began, including in Turkey; Ukraine, expected in many quarters in the West to hold out for only around 72 hours, was able to successfully defend Kyiv and other key cities including Kharkiv in the north, and various settlements in the Luhansk-Donetsk-Zaporizhzhia -Kherson belt in the east and south. Russia has occupied Crimea since 2014, following a referendum there widely considered to have been illegal.

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