Today in the European Parliament we discussed the topic of Crimean Tatars. Russian annexation of Crimea is illegal and needs to stop. Crimea must be returned to Ukraine. Until this is not the case, Russia is obliged to protect the Crimean people from any form of discrimination and to protect their human rights. Sadly we are witnessing the opposite. The banning of Mejlis and the persecution of its members is deplorable and has to stop.

I made a proposal to nominate Mustafa Dzhemilev as one of the candidates for the Sakharov Prize. He is a leader of the Crimean Tatars who has been banned from entering Crimea for his activities in promoting the human rights of the Crimean Tatars in Crimea.

EU needs to send a clear message that we do not tolerate the current occupation of Crimea and the repressions of the Crimean Tatars.

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It is astonishing how many people are surprised that there was a military intervention by Russia in the Syrian Civil War on Assad’s side. How surprised can people be by what Russia is doing these days? The invasion of Georgia, the annexation of Crimea, the invasion of Eastern Ukraine, the intervention in the Syrian Civil War – and people are still surprised. It should finally be understood that Russia’s president Putin is basing his actions on something entirely different than the leaders of democratic Western countries do. The important difference here is readiness to use military force, even when the outcome is not entirely clear.

Dozens of people are killed and hundreds flee to Europe every day in the Syrian Civil War. Millions of Syrians are scattered around the world. In addition to the horrific acts by ISIL, many Syrians have fled their homeland to escape from Assad’s repressions. However, Russia has now created a new reality in Syria.

Russian leaders have a number of reasons to convince themselves and their society why they intervened in the Syrian Civil War and are supporting Assad’s regime. First of all, to achieve an international position that is as powerful as possible, it is necessary to tackle the most urgent problem in the world today. That is the Syrian Civil War, a huge political and humanitarian issue, considering the amount of casualties and refugees, with no end in sight.

Russian leaders are probably not wrong to assume that the majority of Europeans wish to see the end of the Syrian Civil War and the wave of refugees, even if that means Assad staying in power. In the current state it is possible to end the war if one side gains significant military superiority. Today these centres of power are the Assad regime and extremist militant group ISIL. Other opposition powers have unfortunately not had much success over the years. That is why it is easy for Russia to assume that the future of Syria is either Assad’s regime or ISIL, and to present that simplified approach internationally. That was confirmed by Russia’s actions in the first few days, the attacks against anti-Assad powers and not really against ISIL.

Russia’s intervention in Syria has been helped by the fact that Western countries have been unable to put an end to the war for years and there are more and more refugees headed towards Europe. The USA was close to a military intervention in Syria a few years ago, but it did not happen. Russia was one of the loudest critics of that intervention at the time. By now, Russia has created a new reality in Syria, which means there are no possible solutions for ending the Syrian Civil War without Russia.

Unfortunately Russia has no qualms about irritating Western countries. Especially considering that NATO member Turkey already feels directly affected.

The second reason for Russia’s intervention is the mindset that authoritarian leaders should not be overthrown. They probably see it as a threat to Russia, as well. Hussein and Iraq, Gaddafi and Libya, and, to some extent, Mubarak and Egypt – these are unfortunately examples of how a country was freed from its dictator, but it was followed by years of violence and anarchy. By supporting Assad, Russia wants to send a message about putting an end to that trend.

The third reason is belief that Syria’s current regime is viable and they can be Russia’s close ally in the Middle East. But Russia wants more than to just make friends with Syria’s current leaders. There is already a coalition between Russia, Syria, Iraq and Iran and it is very likely that Egypt and Lebanon will join, as well. Therefore, the support of Russia’s potential allies in the greater Middle East is significantly more extensive. If there are no more sanctions, Iran has more possibilities to take part in that partnership.

The fourth argument for the Russian leaders is to show themselves as men of action, not just to the greater Middle East, but on a global scale. Russia has delivered a message that they are prepared for a military intervention not just in the former Soviet Union, but anywhere in the world. That message is magnified for many areas of the world, where the USA and the EU are very subdued. Russian leaders think it is possible to increase authority or even fear, because in their opinion those are often one and the same.

We should not rule out the fifth argument, Russia’s hope that their intervention in Syria will blur reactions to what is still going on in Eastern Ukraine and Crimea. They also hope that in order to come to an agreement in Syria, Western countries are willing to disregard what is going on in Ukraine, as well as Russia’s interests in Ukraine and the former Soviet Union countries.

This is the instance where Western countries, Estonia included, can not allow for the lines of different conflicts to get blurry. Any possible deals with Russia to end the war in Syria can not damage the determination to end Russia’s aggression in Ukraine.

There are certainly some risks involved for Russia, in connection with their military intervention in Syria, and soon possibly in Iraq.

The biggest risk is not achieving instant military success, which means that the conflict between Assad, ISIL and other groups will keep going. People will still be killed, people will still flee, and Russia is unable to take credit for putting an end to the war. Also, constant military action is economically draining for Russia.

The other risk is that by intervening in the Syrian Civil War on Assad’s side, Russia has made its citizens the targets of revenge operations by ISIL and other extremist groups. If innocent Russian citizens are killed somewhere because of it, there will most probably be instant disapproval in the society. The wounds from the war in Afghanistan have not yet healed in Russia.

In conclusion, Russian leaders still have reasonings for themselves and their society to intervene with the Syrian Civil War. Europe, the USA and other Western countries are facing decisions and choices that are even more difficult. But those choices have to be made. Almost five years of the biggest humanitarian catastrophe of this century is a high price to pay, and Russia’s one-sided intervention in the hope of making their ally Assad stronger, will not bring the end to the Syrians’ suffering any closer. Any kind of functioning solution can happen only through cooperation, not by satisfying Russia’s global ambitions of opposition using the people of Syria.

The Nobel Peace Prize in the near future should go to someone who cares and who is able to create peace. In this instance it means helping Syrians to avoid fleeing from neither the governing regime nor the invading extremists.

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Estonian Member of the European Parliament and former Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet stated that the memory of those who lost their lives a year ago in the tragic downing of flight MH17, deserves that the UN Security Council establishes an international criminal tribunal to prosecute those who shot down the flight.

“The prosecution of these criminals is also important to the international community so that finally the truth with all its consequences to the terrorists and to their supporters will become clear,” he said.

Paet added that Russia’s position not to support the establishment of the tribunal does not come as a surprise and is in itself a strong signal.

According to Paet, Russia’s behavior during the investigation has been strange. “Even now Russia does not support the establishment of the criminal tribunal and by doing so, is continuing it’s current line,” he added.

Urmas Paet, together with many other MEPs showed his support to the Dutch, Australian, Belgian, Malaysian and Ukrainian governments’ request for an International Criminal Tribunal.

Paet added that unfortunately it took the tragic downing of flight MH17 for many Western societies to realize and acknowledge the Russian aggression in Eastern Ukraine.

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MEP Urmas Paet sent a question to the European Commission concerning the export ban that the Russian Federation established on all fish products originating from Estonia.
Urmas Paet said that the inspected Estonian fish processing companies meet all the EU requirements and that the precautionary measures put in place by the authorities of the Russian Federation as a result of the audit should be seen as part of Russian sanctions imposed on the food products from the European Union. “The ban is disproportionate and Russia’s approach in setting up trade barriers, in particular by questioning the reliability of the EU wide quality control and safety surveillance system, should be of great concern for all Member States,” he added.

In his letter to the European Commission, Paet said, that therefore the European Commission should consider addressing the worrying situation at the upcoming meetings with the representatives of the Russian Federation. Paet also asked if and how the Commission is planning to relieve the situation for the companies affected by the restrictions.

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EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Federica Mogherini answered to my inquiry concerning the Estonian-Russian border treaty, that the EU looks forward to the fast and complete ratification of the Estonian-Russian border treaty.

“As the legal certainty of European Union’s borders is very important, the EU has supported Estonia’s efforts to reach an agreement with the Russian Federation over a bilateral border treaty,” said Mogherini in her letter. “The European Union wishes that the Russian Federation would launch the ratification process of the border treaty in the State Duma as it has already been launched in the Estonian Parliament,” she added.

I hope the State Duma will start the ratification process soon, so that after more than 20 years of preparations, the Estonian-Russian border question could be clearly solved. The less undecided questions we have with Russia, the better and the border issue is definitely one of them. The clear support of the EU over the ratification and entering into force of the treaty confirms this.

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International aviation rules have to be changed in order to end dangerous military flights without transponders in European airspace. European Union has to show initiative, Urmas Paet said in his speech in European Parliament plenary session in Brussels.

European Parliament could come out with an initiative to change the International Convention and other regulations, in order to oblige military planes to fly with transponders switched on, especially in areas of heavy civil planes’ traffic.

“In recent months there have been several dangerous incidents where so called invisible Russian military plane has got dangerously close to a civil plane. Immediate action must be taken before anything fatal happens,” he added.

Paet said that in last December European Commission tabled a request to European Aviation Safety Agency concerning frequent incidents between civil planes and military planes that fly without transponders. “We need to step forward and initiate a change of international aviation rules,” Paet said in European Parliament plenary session.

Additional information:
urmas.paet@europarl.europa.eu
www.urmaspaet.eu

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Russian military planes that fly in European air space, including Baltic Sea region, with transponders and communication systems switched off, jeopardize passenger planes.

The traffic of Russian military planes has risen espacially above Baltic Sea region. There are several international airports here in Baltic sea region that have a really heavy traffic, planes change heights and manoeuvre. Thus military planes without transponders represent a great threat especially around Copenhagen, Stockholm, Helsinki, Riga, Tallinn and Gdansk airports.

I submitted a proposal and a written question to European Commission, calling for measures to change the situation. The change in Convention on International Civil Aviation should be initiated, in order to ban military planes flying blind, without transponders. Situation must be changed before anything catastrophic happens.

“In recent months there have been several situations very close to crash between passenger planes and military planes flying without transponders. This is a severe play with human lives and must be stopped.

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Member of European Parliament, Urmas Paet, tabled a written question to EU High Representative Federica Mogherini regarding the continuing illegal arrestment of the Estonian police officer Eston Kohver in prison in Moscow.

Paet drew attention that Kohver has been arrested for three months already and requests information which action is European Union planning to take in order to demand his release and sending him back home to his family.

Paet says it is critical that European Union would also raise this question in communication with Russia. “International focus and pressure must be maintained on the case as long as he will be released. This is a clear case of breach of international justice”, he stated.

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Member of European Parliament, Urmas Paet, submitted a written question to European Commission concerning an increase in Russian military planes flying in European airspace, and creating a risk for passenger planes.

According to Paet there is an increasing number of Russian military planes flying in European airspace, including Baltic Sea region, with their communication systems switched off and not communicating with dispatchers. “This is a direct threat to civil planes who are not able to see the Russian military planes via their communication systems.”

Paet asked which actions will European Commission take in order to assure aviation and passenger security. “One possibility is to initiate a change in international agreements, so that military flights with switched off communication systems would not be acceptable any more”, he said.

Paet noted that action needs to be taken before anything serious in very tight European airspace happens.

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