TALLINN, July 15, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas stepped down on Monday in order to become the European Union's next foreign policy chief, after she was tapped for the job by the bloc's leaders.

Kallas -- who has led the Baltic state since 2021 -- handed her resignation letter to the president, but will remain in office until a new government is formed and sworn in.

"This was a very hard time," Kallas, who was the first woman prime minister of Estonia, told Estonian public radio in a Monday interview describing her tenure.

"I started when the Covid crisis was at its peak and I was probably the only prime minister who immediately after being sworn in went to a government meeting and started making decisions," she added.

The outgoing premier is also expected to resign as leader of her Reform party later this summer.

Kallas, a hawkish Russia critic, was last month picked as the EU next top diplomat but her nomination is yet to be put to a vote in the European Parliament.

The ruling coalition of Kallas' Reform, Social Democrats and Estonia 200 are in talks to form a new government.

Reform has chosen the current climate minister Kristen Michal as their candidate for prime minister.

Estonian President Alar Karis will now hold discussions with the parties, and decide who to approach about replacing Kallas.