Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur says he will resign
Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur said he would resign following criticism from the National Audit Office regarding the activities of the Estonian Defence Forces and the Centre for Defence Investments. He said this on the Aktuaalne kaamera program, ERR News reports.
Pevkur noted that a leader must assume political responsibility even if they do not bear personal responsibility for the situation. According to him, Prime Minister Kristen Michal will have to find a new defense minister.
Political responsibility
In a social media post, Pevkur stressed that the audit body's remarks, primarily concerning the activities of the Defence Forces and the Centre for Defence Investments, raise the issue of political responsibility. He said that he considers it right to assume it for the entire defense sector and hand over the ministerial powers at a time convenient for the prime minister.
Pevkur has served as defense minister since 2022. He also stated that the decisions to strengthen national defense were correct and that Estonia is better protected than ever.
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Contracts for ammunition for Ukraine
It became known on Wednesday that Estonia had sought to procure artillery shells for Ukraine and had transferred a total of €70 million in advance to Indian companies that had not previously sold a single shell.
Former head of the Centre for Defence Investments Magnus-Valdemar Saar said that important decisions were not made without the approval of the leadership of the Ministry of Defence. According to him, Pevkur and the ministry's then permanent secretary, Kusti Salm, were informed of this during negotiations on the first contract, while the new permanent secretary, Kaimo Kuusk, was subsequently kept informed.
Pevkur confirmed that he had not read the contracts, although the Centre for Defence Investments had brought them to him. He explained that the minister does not conduct contract negotiations or deal with such details, but makes the fundamental decision to support Ukraine.
The issue of accounting in the defense sector was also discussed by a special committee of the Estonian parliament. Representatives of the Estonia 200 party, the Social Democratic Party, and Isamaa publicly called on Pevkur to resign.
