Estonian president urges EU to consider full trade embargo on Russia

At the meeting in Vilnius during the ceremony of the Baltic states joining the European CESA energy network, leaders of the Baltic states and Polish President were present. The event was also attended by representatives of the European Commission, including EC President Ursula von der Leyen and commissioners for defence, Andrius Kubilius, and energy, Dan Joergensen.

The President of Estonia, Alar Karis, remarked that in recent years, the European Union has made progress in reducing its energy dependence on Russia but should not become complacent.

This is not the end yet. Unfortunately, Europe continues to purchase natural gas from Russia. Therefore, I call on all European countries to continue enhancing our independence. I strongly support the goal of halting all imports of Russian energy into the European Union. We should also seriously consider a full trade embargo against Russia, declared the President of Estonia.

He stressed that "Europe must continue to strengthen sanctions against Russia." These sanctions should remain in place not only until the war ends, but until Russia fully compensates for all damages inflicted on Ukraine, he insisted.

Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs added that beyond achieving energy independence from Russia, the entire European Union should focus on increasing investments in defence and security.

We all understand that the time has come for Europe to catch up, allocate more funds to defence, and bolster its arms industry. The Baltic states and Poland are among the countries leading in this effort. We hope that other nations, both within the European Union and NATO, will follow their example, he said.