Terry McDonald chats with the Estonian prime minister, Kaja Kallas.
“My priority is Estonia. When nobody knows about you, nobody knows when you’re gone. That is why we have been very outspoken. It’s what we have done since we got our independence back in 1991,” Kaja Kallas said in her recent appearance at the Tallinn University Symposium of International Relations.
In response to questions from host Terry McDonald and the student audience, the Estonian prime minister shared her views on the role of Estonia in the international arena and its advantages as a small state; discussed the reasons behind Estonia’s substantial support of Ukraine during the ongoing war and the dangers of appeasing the aggressor, as well as sharing her frustrations about the reluctance of allies to listen to Estonia’s expertise on this subject.
“In this war, there is one aggressor and one victim. Neutrality can’t be our position in this war. Neutrality means indifference. Indifference to the brutality and violence that is going on in Ukraine. We will know the price of neutrality when we are in need and no one comes to our help,” she said.
What can be surmised from the recent visit of Chinese officials with Vladimir Putin? And how to elicit empathy and support during the war in Ukraine from the Global South? These and more questions are answered by Kaja Kallas in the latest episode of the Tallinn University Podcast, presented in conjunction with Estonian World.
