He also criticized the visits of European leaders to Moscow in an effort to reassure Russia that there would be no war.
Asked to comment on the withdrawal of Western diplomats from Kiev and the reluctance of Western airlines to use Ukrainian airspace, Ilves acknowledged that this would be a severe blow to Ukraine.
“First, Western countries must withdraw staff from their embassies in Russia. Why does Russia have a full set of diplomats left while Western countries, with the exception of Estonia, leave their embassies in Kiev?” he asked.
“Secondly, flights to Moscow must be suspended. Why fly there if Russia’s actions make it impossible to fly to Ukraine and it loses charges for flights over its territory?”
“I think now is the right time to show Russia our teeth,” the former president of Estonia said.
Ilves has praised US President Joe Biden’s response to the crisis, his ability to unite allies and a certain common understanding of the countermeasures needed, but at the same time called European politicians’ attempts to visit Moscow and try their luck “not very smart,” he said. I will be the one to manage to change [Krievijas prezidenta Vladimira] Putin ‘s convictions.
“If you look at Putin’s behavior, you’ll see that it’s a completely hopeless game. Biden, in a very bad situation, has done better than I could have hoped,” Ilves said.
He refused to predict the events, but acknowledged that the situation was very dangerous, Russia was showing muscle and the West was facing a serious test.
–
Highlight text and press Ctrl+Enterto send the snippet to the editor!
Highlight text and press Report an error buttons to send the text to be edited!
–
–
