Estonia and France Begin Talks on Nuclear Umbrella

Estonia is holding talks with France on joining an initiative to strengthen nuclear deterrence in Europe.

Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal said this in an interview with AFP.

According to him, Tallinn is already discussing with Paris the possibility of deepening cooperation in this area.

At the same time, Michal stressed that the country cannot simply join such an initiative, as this cooperation requires the necessary military capabilities and level of readiness.

He also recalled that Estonia is already under NATO’s nuclear umbrella, while France is directly involved in the country’s defense through its allied presence.

Alexandre Escorsia, France’s newly appointed ambassador to Estonia, also noted that Paris is moving toward a concept of forward nuclear deterrence and is in dialogue with Estonia on this and other areas of defense cooperation.

The statements came against the backdrop of the European Arctic Summit, which was held September 13-14 in Rovaniemi, northern Finland.

Estonia was represented at the meeting by Kristen Michal, while Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot represented France.

Key topics at the summit included strengthening the EU’s role in the Arctic and regional security amid increased Russian military activity.

On September 14, Finland became the 10th European partner to join the French nuclear deterrence initiative.

In July, Germany and France conducted their first practical nuclear deterrence coordination exercise, involving their air forces.

In March, Macron said France would increase its nuclear arsenal and said he could consider deploying French aircraft armed with nuclear weapons to the territory of European partners.