03/08/2022 06:23 AM EST
Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State
Tallinn, Estonia
Stenbock House
PRIME MINISTER KALLAS: Okay. So welcome. It is my great, great honor to welcome you to Estonia. I’ve been a great admirer of all of your work. I have quoted you many times over these weeks (inaudible). I think you’ve made very, very important points.
We are here because of the security situation that we need to adapt to, and I really welcome you coming to also visit us and talk to us directly on how we can support Ukraine, but also how we can enhance our defense posture at the eastern flank. So welcome.
SECRETARY BLINKEN: Kaja, thank you. And it’s really wonderful (inaudible) but I wish it was under different circumstances. But we have been working so closely together these many months to prepare, if necessary, for the aggression that we saw coming from Russia and Putin. We hoped for the best in avoiding that aggression, but we prepared for the worst. And now we’re – we’ve been acting on it. Acting on it in our support for Ukraine, acting on it in making sure that we exerted maximum pressure on Putin to end the war, prepared for it in terms of making sure that our alliance is strong and prepared to defend every inch of NATO territory if a NATO country is (inaudible).
So we’ve done a lot of work already, but we have a lot more to do to sustain what we’ve already done, and to build on it. And I’m grateful to be here (inaudible).
