Estonian Foreign Minister: Europe has enough leverage to pressure Russia in negotiations

Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna calls on European states to use all their influence on Russia in negotiations to end the war in Ukraine.

Tsahkna said in an interview with RND that Europe is currently in a very strong position but should defend it.

"Putin is sticking to his main motive for the war. Russia's goal in this war is not only to gain territory in Ukraine, but also to change the entire European security architecture," Tsahkna said.

As a result, the Estonian minister indicated that it is unacceptable to negotiate an agreement without considerable participation from Europe and Ukraine.

"We, the Europeans, have a lot in our hands to put pressure on Russia in the negotiations," said Tsahkna.

Russian leader Putin wants to return "€220 billion of frozen assets" and get sanctions against the Russian economy lifted, the minister said.

He said that both are in their hands, not in the hands of the Americans.

Tsahkna also noted that Trump does not take Putin's crimes in Ukraine very seriously.

"We must not allow Trump to rewrite history chasing a quick deal. Unfortunately, we see that negotiations are already underway and soon there will be talks between the two presidents on an equal footing.

We have to put pressure on Russia economically and through sanctions so that Moscow does not have a better position in the negotiations. If Russia and then the US want to talk about Europe and Ukraine, it is impossible to make decisions without our consent," he added.

US President Donald Trump claims that as part of the "settlement of the war" in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin will be forced to make certain concessions.

Earlier, the US president also said that Ukraine "can forget about NATO" as part of a future "peace deal".

He also refused to promise specific security guarantees to Ukraine from the United States, saying that this should be done by Europe.