LONDON, January 16./TASS/. Europe has three to five years to prepare for Russia to pose a serious military threat on the eastern flank of NATO, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said in an interview with The Times.

"Our intelligence estimates it to be three to five years, and that very much depends on how we manage our unity and keep our posture regarding Ukraine," the prime minister said. In her statement Kallas was drawing on a report from the Estonian Foreign Intelligence Service, the newspaper explained. The forecast is based on the scenario under which a ceasefire agreement will be signed in the conflict in Ukraine. Tallinn believes that Estonia and the other two Baltic states will be "the most vulnerable part of NATO," The Times writes.

"From the Baltic states’ perspective, Russia still has enough strength to exert credible military pressure in our region," Kallas said.

Last year, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova commented on Kallas' words that Russia was allegedly to blame for NATO expansion, saying that "not a mythic aggressor" but "NATO-centric regimes" pose a real threat to the Baltic states. The diplomat also added that "living next to an aggressor is just about the history of Russia," which has been "constantly attacked" precisely from the West.