Nordic-Baltic 8: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden.

Baltic Times
March 30, 2022

Estonian ForMin secgen meets with Nordic, Baltic counterparts in Vilnius

Also see: Joint Expeditionary Force: Britain consolidates Baltic-Nordic military, energy bloc

Jonatan Vseviov, secretary general of the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is on a visit to Vilnius on March 29 and 30 for the traditional meeting with the secretaries general of the foreign ministries of Nordic-Baltic states (NB8), with Russia’s war against Ukraine and its impact on our region’s security at the top of the agenda.

At the meeting, Vseviov underlined that the pressure on Russia to end its war against Ukraine must continue. “The price of the aggression must be intolerably high for Russia. To this end, it is crucial to continue imposing additional sanctions and offering every assistance to Ukraine…,” the secretary general said.

Touching on regional security, Vseviov noted the key importance of European and transatlantic unity. “NATO and the transatlantic partnership have a central role in ensuring our security and it is also our greatest strength. Therefore, it is important to make quick progress with reinforcing NATO’s defense and deterrence posture in the region,” Vseviov said.

The secretaries general also spoke about NB8 cooperation in supporting Ukraine. “We will continue our comprehensive efforts to respond to Ukraine’s needs together and help them fight Russia…,” the secretary general said. He highlighted that Estonia supported giving Ukraine EU candidate country status as soon as possible.