During his nomination hearing before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee last week, Roman Pipko, President Donald Trump’s nominee for the next U.S. ambassador to Estonia, praised Estonia’s defense spending, noting that the country has been called a “megaphone for American requests” in urging other NATO members to follow suit.
Committee member Senator Steve Daines (R-Mont.) asked Pipko how he as an ambassador can work with Estonia and fellow diplomats to ensure that other European nations follow Estonia’s example and embrace “the reality of the threat that Russia poses.”
“I understand that you have visited Estonia and Ukraine, so you clearly know all of those issues firsthand,” Pipko replied. He noted that it has been a strong priority of the current U.S. administration to make sure that every member of NATO increases its respective defense spending — an effort he fully supports.
“As you have just said, Estonia not only committed its own resources to defense spending, but it has also been a clear voice within NATO in supporting the American call for increased spending,” he continued. “In fact, some people have called Estonia a megaphone for American requests. In light of recent demands by Russia, it seems to me that most members of NATO now understand that the very mission of NATO is now being questioned by Russia.”
The nominee noted he believes these issues will be addressed at the upcoming NATO summit in The Hague.
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