President Alar Karise kõne Välisministeeriumi asutamise 107. aastapäeval Estonia kontsertsaalis

Diplomats,

Members of the diplomatic core,

Ladies and gentlemen,

What is this now? 107 years of independent foreign policy? Some of it in exile, true, but that only makes it all the more important!

Those years have had their ups and downs: independence and the Treaty of Tartu; admission to the League of Nations; the response to the 1924 uprising, in which Russia's hand could clearly be detected;

the building up of our diplomatic network prior to World War II; the occupation and adjusting to it; consolidation of the policy of non-recognition in exile; the new awakening in 1988 with the creation of the Estonian Institute by Lennart Meri;

the banishing of former Soviet forces; the end of Max van der Stoel's work in Estonia as a seal of democratic maturity; accession to NATO and the European Union; admission to the OECD as a mark of quality regarding our progress;

the resolution of the Lebanese hostage crisis and bringing our ship defenders home from India; solidarity with and assistance for Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, which is to say all those who have sought to move towards free and open societies, some more successfully, some less so;

our time on the UN Security Council; our attempts to counter Russian aggression and establish an international platform to that end. And that is by no means all. There is much, much more for us to remember, and certainly much less we might rather forget. You have done an exceptional job. I doff my hat to you all!

Times have become hectic in recent years, more so than usual, with an unbalanced neighbour becoming a daily inevitability. This is something we have all recognised. There are a number of reasons for this, which have piled one on top of the other, being exacerbated in the process.

Russia's aggression in Ukraine shows no sign of abating. More and more countries are seeing an alternative to democracy. Trade wars are being waged in broad brushstrokes. The Middle East is in a constant state of overheating. Europe's dependence has increased on a number of fronts, one of the most important being defence.

Nuclear bombs are being presented as a threat all too often, with nuclear testing being resumed in response, which had been abandoned for more than 30 years. In these circumstances you sometimes feel like Sisyphus, who cannot roll his boulder uphill any longer, despite being so close to reaching the summit.

How do we move forward so that we don't become pinned beneath that boulder?

Principles must be foregrounded once again in international relations. A stand must be taken to defend those principles. We must talk about them incessantly and remind people of their existence. Without those rules and principles we would be even more at the mercy of the winds buffeting the world; entropy would reign.

At the same time, we ourselves must refrain from overturning the current order and withdrawing from existing agreements out of hand - especially those that pertain to the humanitarian field, even if they do not seem to suit us at the time.

We cannot and must not dismantle, piece by piece, the world order which feeds our own freedom and serves as a basis for our future. While we work every day to deter aggression and back Ukraine, we must not lose sight of the longer-term, more multifaceted view of the future.

The old-school triple maxim we frequently use that repeats a single word does not work in this context: it is restrictive, narrowing our field of vision. It is too much of a simplification; Estonia's future is more complex.

Our playing field is much wider. Security is utmost, but alongside it, equal attention ought to be given to individual freedoms and human rights, as well as to soft power.

Our place on the UN's Human Rights Council next year will provide us with the opportunity to act more forcefully and to raise our profile. We will be able to make an even more forceful stand for deported Ukrainian children and bring the protection of civilians and the press in conflicts to the fore.

Moreover, our innovation model should not just be our own, a thing in and of itself, but form part of the wider international environment. Estonian culture, science and education have a lot to offer the world, as we saw for ourselves only recently in London, New York and Chicago.

And where security is concerned, diplomacy, above all other things, must be at the forefront of what we do: talking, communicating, explaining, understanding and empathising. International law, institutional order and cooperation are our frontline weapons.

This is what we must fight with to preserve democracy, to defend the right of small nations to life and to bring an end to war and violence. That battle is by no means easy: it requires mental effort and resolve, but most importantly care and commitment. And, of course, resources.

Finally, let me read you a quote from Foreign Minister Ants Piip's Thoughts on St Bartholomew's Day, wherein, looking to a dark future, he remarks: "This day also raises people's hopes that despite seeing centuries, even millennia of truth being trampled underfoot in modern society on a daily basis, we should not despair or lose heart.

Because history teaches us that there is light at the end of even the darkest night; that every hardship comes to an end eventually; that there is calm after the storm, and sunnier weather. This is true not just in nature, but everywhere. A complainant's dissatisfaction and proactive response shorten that period of pressure, while optimism and strength of will lead to the victory of truth. Such conviction is an invaluable factor in fending off despair."

Fortunately, we are not despairing. We are not even suffering: we are continuing to proactively respond with enough dissatisfaction to promote and preserve our country.

Onwards and upwards! Let's stick together!