Reuters: Estonia’s top spy says NATO must deter Russia for next 10 to 20 years

The warning from Estonia's top intelligence official represents a stark assessment of the ongoing security threat in Eastern Europe, even as Ukraine continues to resist Russian aggression

Dec 20, 2024 - 01:00

Reuters: Estonia’s top spy says NATO must deter Russia for next 10 to 20 years

Estonian conscripts, illustrative image. Photo via Wikimedia.

NATO will need to contain Russia for the next 20 years, the head of Estonian foreign intelligence said.

This perspective from a frontline NATO state comes as Russian officials have indicated their own military preparations for potential NATO confrontation, highlighting the risk of continued tensions well into the future.

“The task for NATO in the coming 10-20 years will be to contain or deter Russia so it doesn’t get any stupid ideas to push towards the West militarily,” Director General Kaupo Rosin told Reuters on Tuesday on 17 December.

Estonia, which is bordered by Russia and is a member of the alliance, has doubled its defense spending since the war in Ukraine began to 3.4% of its gross domestic product this year, the second largest proportion in NATO, and increased taxes from next year to purchase stockpiles of ammunition for defense.

“I think it’s doable, but the issue needs to be taken seriously in the West, and that we invest (in defense),” the Estonian spy chief said.

While Russia has repeatedly denied it has any designs on attacking a NATO country, its defense minister said this week Moscow must be ready to fight the NATO military alliance in Europe in the next decade.

Rosin said that “NATO and national military plans must be credible, must be real and must be backed up with real resources, regarding troops present, follow on units, ammunition. If we do our homework properly, then we will be able to deter Russia.”

While he said it was hard for him to envisage Russia negotiating over Ukraine any time soon, he said Russia would be “trying to limit NATO’s activities, NATO infrastructure and the troop presence in the vicinity of Russia”, including in NATO’s eastern flank states.

President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday 19 December that he was ready to compromise over Ukraine in possible talks with US President-elect Donald Trump on ending the war and had no conditions for starting talks with the Ukrainian authorities.

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