Volodymyr Zelenskyy begins by thanking Estonia for hosting the event. He says that the participating countries are now preparing together for the upcoming EU, NATO and G7 summits.
"All of this can lead to concrete results," he said at a joint press conference.
When asked how he views talking to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Zelenskyy replied, "as soon as possible, it doesn't matter where," but said it is important that no talks take place without Ukraine.
“When the time is right”
To the same question, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (M) replied that it must of course happen "at the right time" and "at the request of Ukraine".
"It is clear that Europe can be an important supporting force during these talks. It is basically up to President Zelenskyy to let us know when the time is right," Kristersson said, adding that the natural representatives for all of Europe are Germany, France and the UK.
At the same time, he points out that it is "obvious that Russia is not at all ready for any serious negotiations right now."
According to Kristersson, no decisions were made during Tuesday's meeting, but Zelenskyy explained the situation on the ground and that things are currently going badly for Russia.
"At the same time, they confirm that they do not want to negotiate, and that raises the question: what will Russia do then? What will a more pressured Russia do that is not winning and does not want to negotiate?" Kristersson told TT.
“Deepening cooperation”
Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal says that they will help Ukraine achieve a just and lasting peace and will not “accept the idea that borders can be changed by force.”
"Together with Ukraine, we will deepen cooperation between our industries, innovators and defense forces. We will develop joint production, accelerate innovation and eliminate bureaucratic obstacles," he said at the press conference.
In a joint statement, the leaders of the Nordic-Baltic cooperation (NB8) reiterate that “Ukraine’s future lies in the EU and NATO.”
Zelenskyy and Kristersson held a separate meeting with their delegations in the morning and discussed, among other things, the Gripen deal.
"We are doing our utmost to ensure that the Gripen plan becomes operational and that we continue to maintain strong ties with Sweden," Zelensky wrote on X.
