Estonian PM refuses to answer parliamentary commission's questions about her husband's business with Russia, citing busy schedule

TALLINN. Aug 28 (Interfax) - Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, despite a request from President Alar Karis, refused to attend a meeting of a special parliamentary commission, which intends on Tuesday to discuss Kallas' work in light of her husband's business ties with Russia.

"I am going to have a very busy day tomorrow. We will discuss the state budget and the budget strategy," Kallas told reporters on Monday.

The prime minister said she is ready to meet with the relevant committees but wants such plans to be coordinated with her due to her intense schedule.

Kallas also said that she had already aired her opinion regarding her husband's business that "any activity in Russia or related to Russia must be terminated."

"Every entrepreneur ought to find his moral compass for that," the prime minister said, expressing regret over the situation and offering an apology "to everyone who has been affected by this situation."

Kallas earlier denied any plans to step down as Estonian prime minister despite such demands from the opposition, a number of media outlets and the majority of respondents to opinion polls.

Estonian President Alar Karis said on Monday that Kallas should answer a parliamentary commission's questions linked to a scandal over business dealings with Russia by a member of her family.

"Prime Minister Kaja Kallas must also answer the unpleasant questions. By the way, she will have to do so before the parliamentary committee, irrespective of the chairperson: a representative of the opposition or a representative of the coalition," the president said in a statement.

On August 23, the ERR website said that the Stark Logistics transport company, which Kallas' husband Arvo Hallik has a stake in, continued doing business with Russia despite government restrictions on companies interacting with the country. Hallik's company earned 1.1 million euros in 2022 and nearly 475,000 euros in 2023 as a result of its business partner Metaprint's shipments to Russia, the media said.

The parliamentary opposition demanded that Kallas resign.