Estonia on the front line

Isabelle Lasserre — Do you think Donald Trump's action in Venezuela could encourage Vladimir Putin to widen the scope of his war in Ukraine and the region?

Kristen Michal — I hope not. Nicolas Maduro was on Putin's Facebook friends list, he was an illegitimate leader and I don't think anyone will regret it. What separates us, the democratic camp, from Russia and the dictators, is our conviction that the future of Venezuela belongs to the Venezuelans themselves, who should be able to freely elect the leaders of their choice. Honestly, I don't see what difference this will make to Russia. Vladimir Putin has always found pretexts to justify his policy of aggression and, unless I'm mistaken, he didn't wait for American intervention in Venezuela to attack his neighbors, kill innocent children and bomb Ukraine's energy and civilian installations! He doesn't need the Maduro excuse to continue. On the other hand, the treatment meted out to the Venezuelan president could serve as a model for getting rid of other dictators...

I. L. — If Trump decides to annex Greenland, what will the consequences be for Europe?

K. M. — The fate of Greenland must be decided by the Danes, because Greenland is part of Denmark and Denmark is part of NATO, just like the USA. Until there is proof to the contrary, the allies of the Atlantic Alliance still speak to each other with respect, and they continue to debate security issues among themselves. If the Americans are wondering about the best way to ensure security in the Arctic, they need only discuss it with Denmark, whose Prime Minister Mette Fredriksen has repeatedly stated that her country will invest more in Greenland. As for the support of the Europeans, there's no doubt about it since they have declared that Greenland is part of Denmark. In short, we hope that this issue will be resolved at the highest level between NATO members. Do I need to tell you that if a major NATO member attacks another NATO member, this will please Vladimir Putin, who wants the Alliance to die, as well as all those who wish to destabilize the Western camp?

I. L. — Do you think this is a possibility?

K. M. — Again, I hope not. I attended the NATO summit in The Hague last year. Trump was there and he said he expected Europe to contribute more to its defense. And so it did. Estonia, for example, this year has a defense budget in excess of 5% of its GDP. Lithuania exceeds 5%, as does Poland. All the Nordic countries are increasing their military spending. So there's no reason why Donald Trump shouldn't honor his commitment to the Alliance. NATO's enemies can rest assured: we won't give them the gift of our quarrels.

I. L. — More generally, do you think Trump represents an opportunity for European security?

K. M. — I don't know... But I'd like to reiterate that we in the Baltic States have always sent …