"Peace" under authoritarian occupation isn't peaceful: Estonia's Kaja Kallas

"Peace" under authoritarian occupation isn't peaceful | Estonia's Kaja Kallas | GZERO World

Everyone knows that war is bad and peace is good, but what about the difference between peace and "peace"? Estonia's Prime Minister Kaja Kallas sat down with Ian Bremmer at the Munich Security Conference to discuss the war in Ukraine and how her perspective has changed since the Russian invasion began one year ago. Europe is a small region, says Kallas, and maintaining unity in the face of Russian aggression could come down to acknowledging European countries' lived experiences and not-so-distant history.

Kallas makes the important distinction between the post-World War II eras in Eastern vs. Western Europe. While countries like France and Germany were rebuilding their economies and national institutions, Soviet-occupied countries in the Eastern bloc experienced violence, persecution, and economic stagnation. "For 50 years we were occupied, and we were not really missed," says Kallas, "But we missed you."

Catch Ian Bremmer's full interview with Kallas in this week's episode of "GZERO World with Ian Bremmer," airing on US public television stations nationwide. Check local listings.

More from GZERO Media

Heavily armed police officers secure the scene. A car has crashed into a Christmas market in Magdeburg. Several people are killed and many injured.
Heiko Rebsch/dpa via Reuters Connect

The Saudi doctor accused of killing 5 people in the Magdeburg Christmas market on Friday appeared in a German court on Saturday.

Donald Trump speaks on the last day of Turning Point's four-day AmericaFest conference on Dec. 22, 2024, in Phoenix.
USA TODAY NETWORK via Reuters Connect

President-elect Donald Trump’s advisors are reportedly urging him to pull the United States out of the World Health Organization on his first day in office, according to a report published Sunday in the Financial Times.

A ship passes through the Panama Canal's Culebra Cut, heading northbound for the Caribbean, Dec 30. The Canal, built and operated by the United States, will transfer to Panamanian control at a noon ceremony on December 31.
REUTERS

The President-elect is also making waves for saying that the United States must "retake" control of the Panama Canal.

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks at a meeting of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce in Calgary, Alberta, Canada December 21, 2016.
REUTERS/Todd Korol

Bad news for embattled Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau: On Saturday, 51 members of his Liberal Party’s powerful Ontario caucus reportedly agreed that he should resign, citing their plummeting fortunes under his leadership.

A view is being seen of the northeast of Tehran at sunrise on August 17, 2012.
Photo by Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Reuters

After weeks of increasingly severe blackouts caused by massive natural gas shortages in Iran, the state power company warned manufacturers on Friday that they need to brace for power cuts that could last weeks and cost billions of dollars.