The decision at the NATO Bucharest Summit in 2008 not to grant Ukraine and Georgia the Membership Action Plan had been interpreted by Russia as “weakness” and a “clear invitation” to establish itself militarily in Europe. Such a statement made the Estonian Prime Minister.

“The EU and NATO have a window of opportunity to stop Russian aggression now. One example is the decision at the NATO Bucharest Summit in 2008 not to grant Ukraine and Georgia a Membership Action Plan– by now it is clear that this was interpreted by Russia as weakness and a clear invitation to establish itself militarily in Europe.

Now it is our responsibility to learn the lessons from our past decisions. We cannot repeat the mistakes we did with our response to aggression in Georgia, Crimea, and Donbas where Russia gained territories and was not punished for it. No legal consequences followed”, - said Kaja Kallas.