00:00The situation has not gotten better. The overall security situation in the region, in Europe,
00:04I think it is not the politics, it's actually Europe as such. The security situation is much
00:13more worrisome than it was before the large-scale invasion. We also understand that Russia's
00:21broader idea is to drive the US out of Europe and to reshape the European security architecture.
00:29These are their goals and we understand it.
00:36And let's say they are constantly pushing towards that
00:43at any cost, as it seems at the moment.
00:49Russians would like to make Ukraine a crumbled state, a crippled state.
00:58And again, here I see that the Russians would also like to negotiate this broader safety and
01:05security of Russian borders, which is not only Ukraine then, but it is also the NATO eastern
01:11flank, trying to limit the NATO activities, NATO infrastructure, NATO troop presence
01:17in the vicinity of Russia. So this is probably the Russian agenda with what they will show up,
01:23if they show up in negotiations. Russians are usually ready to negotiate if they perceive
01:32strength on the opposing side. Russia usually does not negotiate with weak
01:39opponents. They dictate to the weak opponents. So our plans must be credible, must be real,
01:47and must be backed up with real resource regarding troops present or follow-on units.
01:55This must be backed up with proper resource regarding ammunition, for example.
02:01The follow-on forces, or let's say support forces, must be selected, designated. They must exercise
02:10in the potential future operation areas. So this all comes as one package.
02:17If we do our homework properly, then we will be able to deter Russia. And in my view,
02:26NATO in the coming 10, 20 years, the main task will be to contain or deter Russia,
02:35so it doesn't get any stupid ideas to push towards the West militarily.
02:42I think it's doable, but it also needs that we take the issue seriously in the West,
02:54and that we also invest into the proper, let's say, categories. Commitments without investments
03:03are nothing. There are several threats. First is we have to avoid any situation where
03:11Estonia would become... a situation where it would be possible for China to blackmail us
03:19based on the leverage it would have over us, technologically, for example.
03:25This is one very important issue. The issue with the Chinese technology is that it's usually
03:30compatible only with another Chinese technological item. That's what I mean by blackmailing issue.
03:37So if there would be a situation where China would like to push us towards a political decision,
03:46for example, and we would have, let's say, some sectors which are technically
03:53in reality not under our control, that would mean all this equipment would be
04:00manipulatable from China, that's a situation we would also like to...
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