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Estonia Head of State meets with Czech Minister of Foreign Affairs
17.11.2010
“The Velvet Revolution – the anniversary of which we all recall on this day – played an important role in the series of events that released us from the bondage of an alien regime and brought us back to Europe in the deepest, most democratic meaning of this word,” said the President, Mr. Toomas Hendrik Ilves, when he met with Mr. Karel Schwarzenberg, Czech Minister of Foreign Affairs, who is on an official visit to Estonia.
The eastern partnership of the European Union and general foreign policies were discussed at length at the meeting.
“The European Union must be a strong partner to all its neighbours who wish either to launch or intensify democratic and market economy reforms,” President Ilves emphasised. “Close and in-depth consultations in any subject, regardless of the size and impact of the Member States, must be the common features of the foreign policies of the EU.”
President Ilves and Foreign Minister Schwarzenberg also touched upon regional co-operation between Visegard and the Baltic states, investigating the crimes of totalitarian regime, and the proposal to name 23rd August (on 23/08/1939, Stalin’s Soviet Union and Nazi Germany divided Europe into spheres of influence with a secret treaty and a number of countries lost their independence, as a consequence) as a memorial day for victims of all totalitarian regimes.
President Ilves thanked the Czech Republic for its recent decision to participate for the second time in the NATO-led Air Security Mission of the Baltic states.
The Estonian Head of State described as important NATO’s new defence concept, which supports the visibility and credibility of the alliance and its commitment to defending its members, as well as the contribution to foreign operations, which aims towards increased stability and security in the world.
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