The Baltic states (catch all)

[Stan]

Yesterday evening on Camp Bastion in Southern Afghanistan, Estonian soldiers held a memorial ceremony for two fallen Estonian soldiers, the first Estonians lost in Afghanistan. The two soldiers were members of a mine clearance team in the Helmandy province and were reportedly killed in a missile attack.

The news reached Estonia on the evening of the 23rd, when the nation was celebrating both mid-summer and Victory Day.

In his comments to the Estonian press, President Ilves called on the nation to continue supporting the international missions. “They were not just soldiers but mine clearance specialists whose duty it was to clear Afghanistan. This shows how difficult and dangerous our struggle is together with Afghans for a peaceful Afghanistan. This shows that we have no right to break this mission.”

Joint statement from Estonia's Prime Minister, Minister of Defence and Minister of Foreign Affairs

These members of the Estonian Defence Forces lost their lives in defending the security of the Republic of Estonia by fighting against the global threat of terrorism. We are participating in the operation in Afghanistan at the request of the Afghan Government, as a NATO member, shoulder-to-shoulder with the rest of the democratic world, as a family of 37 countries contributing to the stability of the world and making it a better place in which to live.”

It is regretful that we have to pay such a high price in defence of our values. Only we can defend our values; not even our allies will defend our values if we are not ready to defend them ourselves.

Today we take for granted that ensuring stability and peace in the world is the duty of a responsible nation. Estonia will continue to contribute to the operation in Afghanistan at this difficult moment, as we cannot let terror, death and destruction prevail, seeds which have been sown by terrorists.

Kadri Liik, Director of the Tallinn-based International Center for Defense Studies opined "Estonians generally supported the Afghanistan mission. The Middle East is a direct concern for Estonia, with or without America. If things boil over there, there are direct implications for Estonia. Noone in government has bothered to make a more sophisticated argument than that we have to support our allies.”