Estonia’s President Alar Karis is currently in Israel on a mission to explore the possibilities for peace in the region.
He met with President Isaac Herzog on Wednesday and is scheduled to visit Ramallah to deliver a message of peace to the Palestinian leadership. Karis was previously in the region last November when he visited Egypt and Jordan.
Karis and Herzog have been WhatsApp friends for several years but had not met face-to-face until Wednesday.
After coming into office in October 2021, Karis sent an introductory message via WhatsApp to Herzog, who appreciated his Estonian counterpart’s initiative and informality.
Mutual discussions
In addition to discussing developments in the Middle East, the two presidents also dwelt briefly on what is happening in the Balkans. Herzog told Karis that the Balkans are enshrined in Israel’s history because several of the country’s presidents and prime ministers were born there.
He said he would like to visit Tallinn (Estonia’s capital) and Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, to tour the Museum of Culture and Identity of Lithuanian Jews, which opened last year and is an extension of the famed Vilna Gaon Museum.
The primary focus of discussion between the two presidents was the hoped-for speedy return of the hostages who are still in captivity in Gaza after almost 500 days of mental and physical torture and deprivation; the options for peace; the possibility of normalization of relations with Saudi Arabia; and solutions to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
It was a given that bilateral relations between Israel and Estonia would also feature in the conversation. Speaking of Estonia’s desire to find a peaceful solution to the conflicts in the region, Karis acknowledged that “it will take some effort to make it happen.”
Discussions on the Middle East
An indication that progress toward this goal may be on the way is the changing of the guard in both Lebanon and Syria, which Herzog said could lead to positive developments.
In a more realistic outlook, he said that Israel cannot be over-optimistic about the change in Syrian attitudes, and for the time being, it is just looking at how things evolve.
The Druze in both Israel and Syria could be instrumental in fostering good neighbor relations, he added. “The Druze are an extremely important element in our society.”
When the conversation turned to Iran and its proxies, Herzog told Karis that Israel wanted to prevent Iran from supplying armaments and laundering money to Hezbollah.
When Karis broached the idea of a two-state solution, Herzog declared there could be no negotiations on the subject until the Palestinians condemned terror.
“We have to hear a true expression of sorrow about terrorism by the Palestinians. It’s unacceptable that they celebrated the Hamas raping and killing of Israelis,” he said.
Concerning the Saudi Arabian issue, Herzog said that relations with Saudi Arabia would lead to a major dialogue between Israel and the Arab states.
As for Gaza, “We have to change the whole paradigm of making peace,” said Herzog. “People on both sides have to be willing. There has to be a dramatic change in the way we negotiate.”
It was obvious that Karis had come to Israel to learn about its aims and policies at close range, just as he had learned of Egypt and Jordan’s aims and policies when he visited those countries last November.
He said little and listened carefully. Herzog was emotionally moved by the fact that Karis and his whole delegation were wearing the yellow ribbon pin that symbolizes Israel’s yearning for the hostages to come home.