Russia still holds a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, despite its invasion of Ukraine. (SERGEI BOBYLYOV/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
The conversations came after an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council on the recent incursions into NATO territory. Last week three Russian MiG jets "equipped with missiles," according to Budrys, flew into Estonian territory for 12 minutes, coming within 15 miles of the parliament building.
The week before, 19 Russian drones had traipsed into Polish airspace.
The Security Council, which also hosts the U.S., U.K., France and China as permanent members and 10 rotating non-permanent members, did not vote on a resolution to condemn the incursions because Russia would automatically veto such a move.
For that reason, the Council has been unable to pass binding resolutions on Ukraine since 2022.
Tsahkna said he was not hopeful the security council would ever change.
"I'm an optimist, but I cannot see this opportunity right now to change it."
The Security Council has broad powers to investigate disputes, hold discussions, issue statements or recommendations, impose sanctions, and even authorize military action when necessary.
However, these tools only function when the five permanent members are in agreement, or at least when none of them uses their veto. This structure creates a major limitation when one of those permanent members is itself the party accused of aggression.
While the Security Council remains paralyzed, nations have turned to the U.N. General Assembly, where resolutions carry political weight but are not legally binding.
Russia called reports of the incursions "groundless accusations."
Last week three Russian MiG jets "equipped with missiles," according to Budrys, flew into Estonian territory for 12 minutes, coming within 15 miles of the parliament building. (Reuters/Sergei Karpukhin)
"This is not about the frontline nations," Budrys said. "It’s about the whole world."
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They said that while the solidarity demonstrated among allies at the U.N. is great, Russia fears action, not words.
"For Russia they have to see. They don’t believe in our plans and our protocols. They believe in what they see," said Budrys.
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