'Don't Try to Please the Dictator,' Estonia's Prime Minister Michal Warns Europe over Putin

Europe should not open a diplomatic channel to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Estonia's Prime Minister Kristen Michal has warned. Europe should not be in a mediator's position, he said.

In an interview given from the Estonian capital Tallinn, Michal said: 'You should not take the role of trying to please the dictator.' In his words, the plan Europe has taken — suffocating Russia economically with sanctions — is actually working.

European leaders have long feared the US administration under President Donald Trump may pursue a Russia-Ukraine peace deal on terms that sideline Europe and disadvantage Kyiv. The most recent talks between Washington and Moscow have reignited debate in Brussels and national capitals about the need for Europe to have its own direct line to the Kremlin.

Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store held a 90-minute call with Putin in late October.

Estonia, a country of 1.3 million people, borders Russia and has been subject to Moscow's persistent attempts to stoke internal unrest. Michal warned against the idea of direct talks, saying it would weaken Europe's position with Putin.

Michal said being a mediator means being willing to lower the standards for Russia, including when it comes to imposing and enforcing punitive sanctions. In his words, the two roles cannot be held together — one role is backing Ukraine and pressuring Russia, and a second is trying to have a form of mediation.

He added: 'Putin should understand that Europe is strong, keeping together and we have one voice.'

US officials will sit down with Ukrainian and Russian representatives next week. The talks, to be held in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, will be the first face-to-face negotiations since February, US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said on Monday.

Michal said Europeans appreciate the Trump administration's attempts to broker a peace deal, but the pressure should be very much on Russia. In his words, the problem is sitting in the Kremlin, nowhere else.

With Trump's Republican Party in crisis after a major loss in Tuesday's US midterm elections, Europe is closely watching how the shift of power in the US Congress will influence the president's position on Ukraine. On the election outcome Michal said elections have consequences, and checks and balances are a good thing in a democracy. He said the electoral shift could move Washington further to a more value-based side, which would probably be a good message to Ukraine and to Europe.

To heap pressure on Russia, Estonia has spearheaded a push — together with Poland and Sweden — to toughen visa rules for Russians, including former fighters who fought on the battlefields in Ukraine. Tallinn has proposed an outright ban on allowing ex-soldiers from Russia's armed forces access to the EU at large.

Officials believe the tourist visas allow Russian operatives easy access into the bloc to conduct so-called hybrid warfare campaigns — from flying drones over sensitive security sites to sabotage of infrastructure. EU officials said last month the European Commission is planning to put forward proposals in the new year. Michal said Europe had no time to waste as hybrid attacks keep disrupting services, such people should not be running around Europe, and visas should be limited.