Helsinki, 18 August 2022 (TDI): Minister for Foreign Affairs of Finland, Pekka Haavisto, met the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Estonia, Urmas Reinsalu, on Wednesday to exchange thoughts on Finland-Estonia bilateral and international issues.
FM @Haavisto: It was a great pleasure to welcome Estonian Foreign Minister @UrmasReinsalu to Helsinki today. Excellent discussions on current bilateral and international issues. Always good to exchange views with close partners. Praegusel ajal on meie sõprus ülioluline! pic.twitter.com/AWeZj5gZnW
— MFA Finland 🇫🇮 (@Ulkoministerio) August 17, 2022
Remarks of Foreign Minister of Estonia
Talking about the Russian Aggression in Ukraine, the Minister of Estonia, Urmas Reisalu, expressed his support for Ukraine, as well as in “raising the cost of aggression for Russia.”
Met with good colleague FM @Haavisto today in #Helsinki to discuss 🇪🇪🇫🇮 relations, further support to #Ukraine 🇺🇦 & raising the cost of aggression for Russia.
We must stop entry to the European Union for Russian nationals as long as Russia continues war against Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/IOWRFuGIya
— Urmas Reinsalu (@UrmasReinsalu) August 17, 2022
Up till now, the Estonian people, government, and private sector have given over 20 million euros of humanitarian aid to Ukraine in total. Similarly, Finland has granted EUR 21 million in additional support to Ukraine following Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.
Out of this sum, EUR 9.2 million in humanitarian assistance will be delivered through the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
Talking about granting visa applications to Russian citizens in EU countries, the Minister of Estonia said that “We must stop entry to the European Union for Russian nationals as long as Russia continues the war against Ukraine.”
Earlier this month, the Prime Minister of Estonia, Kaja Kallas gave a proposal to ban Russian Citizens’ entry to the EU member states.
Stop issuing tourist visas to Russians. Visiting #Europe is a privilege, not a human right. Air travel from RU is shut down. It means while Schengen countries issue visas, neighbours to Russia carry the burden (FI, EE, LV – sole access points). Time to end tourism from Russia now
— Kaja Kallas (@kajakallas) August 9, 2022
Also Read: US approves NATO membership for Finland, Sweden
Finland-Estonia Bilateral Relations
The Republic of Finland recognized the Republic of Estonia in 1920 and diplomatic relations were restored on 29 August 1991. Both countries enjoy relations based on good economic, security, and goodwill cooperation.
Finland and Estonia are members of the European Union, the Schengen agreement, and the Eurozone. Finland has long been Estonia’s most important economic and trade partner. It has been one of the two biggest investors in the Estonian economy during the entire period of Estonian independence.
Moreover, Finland is also Estonia’s most important tourist destination.
