President Lennart Meri received the International Defence Advisors Board chaired by General Garry Johnson (Great Britain) and consisting of Walter Statdler from the US, Kjeld Hillings from Denmark, Lars-Erik Wahlgren from Sweden, Michel Debray from France, Dietrich Genschel from Germany and Chris Prebensen from Norway, in Kadriorg today.

On the request of the three Baltic Defence Ministers and with the financing of their Governments, the Defence Advisors have since 1995 held meetings with the security and national defence officials and high government officials of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and supported the organisation of several international conferences and seminars. Today, the Defence Advisors were on a farewell visit, and presented their final report to President of the Republic.

According to the Defence Advisors, only accession to NATO would offer an actual guarantee to the Baltic States, reducing the risks to their independence and the stability of the region. Speaking of the defendability of the Baltic States, the Defence Advisors prefer to compare it to the defendability of the North of Norway and West Berlin in the days of the Cold War. The international defence advisors expect the Western countries to express their position with more clarity already in Washington.

According to the defence advisors, there is ample room for development in the Estonian national defence structures; their advice for the future was that the main emphasis should be laid on learning the crisis prevention, crisis information and action in the situation of crisis from the partner states, and on the application of the acquired knowledge. As General Johnson said, the solution is in the minds, not on the ground, and the role of the defence forces in the democratic society should be made clearer to the Estonian youth. According to General Johnson, every parent in Estonia should be proud of their sons serving in the Estonian defence forces, of which the experts who have seen them in action in different parts of the world speak very highly.

As General Johnson said, the Defence Advisors would be glad to share their knowledge also in the future. The President said that Estonia needs the continued defence advice, just like every student needs a good teacher.

President of the Republic gave a dinner to the Defence Advisors.


Press Service of the Office of the President
Kadriorg, February 15, 1999

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