[autom.vertaling] Estland ontkent overeenkomst met Washington meer dan ICC (en)
Estonia denied on Wednesday that it was about to sign an agreement under pressure from Washington to grant U.S. troops immunity from prosecution by the International Criminal Court.
As the Prime Minister of Estonia Siim Kallas is scheduled for a trip to the United States early September, media initially reported on the signing of such a deal in Washington.
Government spokesman, Daniel Vaarik, confirmed that the United States has approached Estonia about signing an agreement, but he said reports that a deal would be sealed when Kallas visits the White House next month were wrong.
"Estonia is still in the process of formulating its position," said Vaarik, adding that Washington had not pressured the Baltic state to sign. Vaarik declined to comment on the EU request that the candidate countries not sign bilateral agreements with the US on this issue, but said he hoped the Europeans and the Americans could reach a compromise before Estonia would have to make a final decision.
Estonia and the other post-soviet Baltic republics are bidding for membership of the EU as well as of NATO. They are seen as candidates to join both.
Earlier the EU insisted on candidate countries should not sign bilateral agreements to protect US troops from prosecution in the International Criminal Court (ICC). The EU last week criticised Romania - one of the potential new entrants - after it signed such an agreement promising not to extradite US soldiers.