Today in London, Estonian Minister of Defence Hanno Pevkur met with John Healey, Secretary of State for Defence of the United Kingdom, to discuss bilateral defence cooperation, the security situation in Europe, support for Ukraine, and strengthening NATO’s defence and deterrence posture ahead of the NATO summit in The Hague.
“The British were our strongest military supporters already during the War of Independence, bringing their navy to assist us and thereby changing the course of the war. Now, more than 100 years later, our defence cooperation with the United Kingdom is deepening year by year, and together we are developing a stronger defence posture both in Estonia and more broadly within NATO. Notably, this spring, a full-strength UK reinforcement brigade will be deployed as part of Exercise Siil – a significant next step in practicing interoperability between our forces,” said Minister of Defence Hanno Pevkur.
“In addition, currently top priorities include increasing defence spending and coordination ahead of the next NATO Summit in The Hague. Together with our Allies, we must set a new target level for defence spending, because it is clear to everyone that 2% of GDP is no longer sufficient. I explained to Secretary Healey our decision to raise our defence spending to over 5% already next year and called for joint support within NATO for a rapid increase in defence spending,” Pevkur added.
The United Kingdom has also been among the biggest supporters of Ukraine in Europe – in addition to large-scale military aid, the UK has led the INTERFLEX training mission for Ukrainian armed forces. “We share the understanding of how crucial it is to continue military support to Ukraine at this moment, in order to give Ukraine a stronger position in any peace negotiations. Likewise, we see the need to offer Ukraine credible security guarantees for the future,” said Minister Pevkur.
In addition, Minister Pevkur met in London with Shadow Secretary of State for Defence James Cartlidge, Chair of the Defence Select Committee of the UK Parliament Tan Dhesi, and General Richard Barrons.
UK forces have been stationed in Estonia since 2017 as the framework nation of the NATO Battlegroup in Estonia, following decisions made at the Wales and Warsaw summits. In 2022, the UK also assigned a high-readiness brigade to strengthen Estonia’s defence, based in the UK, and regularly exercised deployment. In 2023, Estonia and the UK signed a bilateral defence cooperation agreement outlining collaboration for the next decade.
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Photos: Kaitseminister Pevkur ja Ühendkuningriigi kaitseminister J… | Flickr