Kremlin says Estonia's readiness to host nuclear-capable NATO jets threatens Russia
FILE PHOTO: A general view shows the Kremlin on the bank of the Moskva River in central Moscow, Russia, May 7, 2025. REUTERS/Anton Vaganov/ File Photo
MOSCOW - The Kremlin said on Friday that Estonia's stated readiness to host NATO allies' U.S.-made F-35A stealth jets, capable of carrying nuclear weapons, posed a direct threat to Moscow.
Estonian Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur told the Postimees news outlet on Thursday that Estonia - which borders Russia and is a rotating base for NATO jets tasked with protecting Baltic airspace - was ready to host nuclear-capable jets if necessary.
"If some of them, regardless of their country of origin, have a dual-use capability to carry nuclear weapons it doesn't affect our position on hosting F-35s in any way," the outlet cited him as saying.
"Of course we are ready to host our allies."
Pevkur was speaking after Britain, a NATO member, announced it would buy at least 12 F-35A jets capable of carrying nuclear warheads and that they would join NATO's airborne nuclear mission.
Asked about Pevkur's comments, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said such a move would be an obvious threat to Russia.
"Of course it would be an immediate danger," Peskov told a journalist from Russia's Life news outlet. He said the statement was one of many "absurd thoughts" voiced by politicians in the Baltic region, which comprises Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
"We have practically no relations with the Baltic republics because it is very difficult to make them worse," he said. REUTERS
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Brazil government begins legal analysis to challenge tax-hike reversal
FILE PHOTO: A general view of the plenary chamber of deputies during a session at the National Congress in Brasilia, Brazil December 18, 2024. REUTERS/Adriano Machado/File Photo BRASILIA/SAO PAULO - The office of Brazil's solicitor general said on Friday it was conducting technical analyses that could lead the government to take legal action against the decision by Congress to overturn a tax hike on some financial transactions. The AGU office said in a statement it had started the review at the request of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and asked the finance ministry for supporting information. "As soon as the analysis is completed, the AGU will announce its decision," it added. Both chambers of Congress dealt a major blow to the Lula administration on Wednesday when they voted to nix a decree raising the financial transactions tax levied on certain credit, foreign-exchange and private pension plan operations. The government opted for the move in May as a way to boost revenue and limit spending freezes needed to comply with its fiscal rules. The decree, however, faced immediate backlash from lawmakers, who said they would not approve tax hikes. Newspaper O Globo reported earlier on Friday that the government had decided to file a lawsuit with the Supreme Court as it believes Congress overstepped its constitutional powers by reversing the decree. Finance Minister Fernando Haddad had already hinted on Thursday about potentially taking the matter to court. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Families of French citizens detained in Iran plead for proof of life after Israel prison strike
Ms Noemie Kohler, sister of Cecile Kohler, and Ms Anne-Laure Paris, daughter of Jacques Paris, giving a press conference with lawyer Chirinne Ardakani, in Paris, on June 27. PHOTO: REUTERS Families of French citizens detained in Iran plead for proof of life after Israel prison strike PARIS - The families of Cecile Kohler and her partner Jacques Paris, two French citizens detained in Iran since 2022, issued urgent pleas on June 27 for proof the pair are still alive, days after an Israeli strike hit Tehran's Evin prison where they are held. Evin prison is known as Iran's most notorious facility for political prisoners, and where Iran has often held foreign nationals, including Paris and Kohler who are accused of spying and seeking to stir up unrest. France has called the charges baseless and has demanded their immediate release for three years. Israel struck the prison on June 23, one of the last targets hit in its 12-day air campaign that ended with a ceasefire the following morning. Iran has said some people died in the attack but the fate of the French prisoners remained unclear. France has condemned the strikes on the prison, accusing Israel of putting two of its citizens in danger. 'We are desperate, terrorised,' said Ms Anne-Laure Paris, daughter of Jacques Paris, calling on Iranian authorities to provide immediate evidence that the pair survived and to secure their release within hours. According to their families, the last confirmed contact with the prisoners was on May 30 during a consular visit. 'No one, not us, the families or the French authorities, have been able to make direct contact with them,' Ms Noemie Kohler, Cecile Kohler's sister, said. 'We are waiting for immediate sign of life from Cecile and Jacques... to make sure they are really okay and they are really alive.' They are urging the French government to support 'exfiltration on grounds of force majeure,' pointing to the dangers posed by ongoing conflict and an unstable ceasefire. A formal request is also being prepared for submission within hours to the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture. France in May filed a case at the World Court against Iran for violating the right to consular protection a bid to pressure Iran over the detention of its two citizens. Iran's Revolutionary Guards have detained dozens of foreign and dual nationals in recent years, often on espionage-related charges. Rights groups and Western countries accuse Tehran of using foreign detainees as bargaining chips, which Iran denies. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
Cameroon leader's ally quits, launches challenge in political shake-up
YAOUNDE - A long-time ally of Cameroon's leader has quit the government to run for president in October elections - a defection that could reshape the West African nation's politics after more than four decades of Paul Biya's rule. Issa Tchiroma Bakary, who served as spokesperson for Biya's government from 2009 to 2018, said this week he had resigned as employment minister in response to what he said were widespread calls for change. "As a political leader, I felt called upon to respond to this solicitation from our compatriots from north to south, from east to west," Tchiroma said in an interview with a social media influencer Ben Oumar on YouTube and Facebook on Thursday. Cameroon's communication ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Biya, the world's oldest serving head of state at 92, has not confirmed whether he plans to stand again in the vote. There has been widespread speculation in Cameroon about a possible succession battle in the ruling coalition. Tchiroma's challenge could shake the ruling party's confidence ahead of what many anticipate will be a historic election — possibly the first without Biya since 1982. Cameroon has had just two presidents since independence from France and Britain in the early 1960s. It would also mark a major political realignment in the northern regions – Tchiroma's home base – which has traditionally delivered strong support for Biya's Cameroon People's Democratic Movement (CPDM). Tchiroma is the leader of the Cameroon National Salvation Front, a CPDM-allied party, and has previously also served as transport and communication minister. He announced his plans in an open letter on Wednesday, in which he said that Biya's administration had stifled progress and paralysed institutions. Tchiroma said on Thursday his goals include a referendum on federalism, which would grant more power to provinces. He also vowed to prioritize youth employment, education and agricultural modernization. Tchiroma could still face an uphill battle in a political system where incumbency, patronage and party machinery wield enormous influence. But he is now arguably the most influential northern opposition figure, and his defection signals a potential realignment of elites, Munjah Vitalis Fagha, a political scientist at the University of Buea, told Reuters. Tchiroma's candidacy may open the door for other northern figures like Bello Bouba Maigari of the National Union for Democracy and Progress to declare bids, Fagha and other analysts said. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
