Estonian President-elect Alar Karis promised to start talking with Russian-speaking residents in Russian. It is reported by the Estonian edition ERR.
“I promise that the time will come when I will communicate with the Russian-speaking community in Russian,” Karis said at the briefing. The Sputnik Meedia Telegram portal clarifies that in this way the elected head of Estonia reacted to the question of whether he will be able to speak Russian in the future. “Since I have been outside the Russian-speaking environment for a long time, I need to practice this language,” said Karis.
“I am a president who will try to communicate with all political forces and find a way for the further development of Estonia,” he also assured (quoted from ERR).
Earlier, on August 28, the now-elected President of Estonia, and then a candidate for the head of state, in an interview with the ETV + TV channel said that his Russian language “rusted due to lack of practice.” “I really think that this (in order to speak and give interviews in Russian. – RBC ) requires a little effort, a little being in the appropriate environment, and, in the end, I am at the age when I faced a lot I spoke Russian and communicated in it, studied in Russian, and I even wrote my scientific work in Russian, ”Karis emphasized.
Answering the question whether interviewing in Russian is not a taboo for him, the politician said that, in his opinion, the more languages a person knows, the richer he is. “So the question is not what language you speak, you just know different languages,” Karis noted.
Karis won the presidential elections in Estonia on 31 August. In the second round of voting, he was supported by 72 out of 80 deputies. In all two rounds, he was the only candidate for the post of head of state. Karis will take office on October 11, and for now, Kersti Kaljulaid will continue to perform the duties of the president.
The President performs representative functions in Estonia. The executive power in the republic is exercised by the prime minister and the government.
Before becoming president, Karis headed the Estonian National Audit Office. This department monitors the efficiency of spending taxpayers' money by the authorities. Then the official worked as director of the Estonian National Museum
