"Almost a decade ago, I was asked to write a comment about his life for a book Peeter Ernits put together (Viimane Rüütel (Tallinn, 2017). I entitled my submission “A Washington for Estonia.” …Arnold Rüütel was neither a philosopher nor a firebrand and so he has often been more criticized and less appreciated than those who were one or the other or even in some cases both. But with time, his role as a bridge who made the passage from the old to the new possible is being recognized."

"In a simplistic and absolute world, people ask but two things – that we find a solution to global problems and, if we can't, that we at least make it so that they don't affect them."

"We can write laws about how to become an Estonian citizen, but not how to become a part of the Estonian nation. If we were to attempt it, we would turn into a totalitarian society and destroy our freedoms in the name of preserving our customs."

"These principles and values upon which our societies stand are noble, but without a willingness to take a stand for it, even the most virtuous of ideas is just an idea. It becomes reality, and stays alive, only when accompanied by a readiness to act."

"We do not repeat our ironclad commitment to Article 5 in order to convince our Allies. We repeat it to convince others, so that they would not miscalculate."

"In the 19th century, the importance of a nation was based on natural resources and territory. In the 20th century primarily on military force. Today, the main resource of countries are our people. People, not merely as tools of production, but as individuals with their rights and freedoms, as well as unbounded imagination, ingenuity and entrepreneurship. Only truly free people are creative enough to thrive in 21st century. Only democracies can give such freedom to people. That is why democracy, human rights and the rights of the nations, are the most important tools for peace and prosperity."

"Since economic agents are often concerned with profit lines and not ethics, it can be the case that if something gets banned, another avenue is found to restore it."

"A freedom in retreat somewhere would make freedom less secure everywhere."

"Will 2022 be easier? I do not know the answer to this. But I know that together we will make it."