On Tuesday, Kaja Kallas was on a long-planned visit to Gothenburg, to talk about business issues, among other things.
But in an interview with some Swedish journalists afterwards, most of it revolved around NATO and the war in Ukraine.
The Estonian Prime Minister hopes that Turkey’s opposition to the two applications will be resolved relatively quickly.
“Need some time”
– We are 30 countries in NATO and some need a little more time. We have had time to think about a Swedish and Finnish membership and for us it is very clear. But it is not as clear to our southern allies, says Kaja Kallas.
– They will eventually land there, but they need the discussions and hopefully they will say yes in the end.
Kaja Kallas continues her Sweden tour by, among other things, meeting Magdalena Andersson in Stockholm on Wednesday.
The Prime Minister’s meeting will also largely be about NATO.
– We have the experience of joining NATO and may be able to share the process and the obstacles that may stand in the way, she says.
Unclear schedule
Estonia joined NATO in 2004, a membership that Kaja Kallas’ father, the then Prime Minister Siim Kallas, was involved in negotiating.
But it was a completely different process, states Kaja Kallas.
– Our situation was different, we worked with two processes at the same time, NATO and the EU. When one door closed, another opened, so we took it step by step. It took us seven years to get there, so I think it goes much faster for Sweden, she says.
According to Kaja Kallas, the goal is still for Sweden and Finland’s application process to be ready for the NATO summit in Madrid at the end of June.
But whether that will be the case remains to be seen.
– It is very difficult to say. The goal is to have everything ready for the Madrid meeting, but it depends on the negotiations, what the requirements look like and what room for maneuver there is, says Kaja Kallas.