Anti-Russian foothold: why Estonia demanded to expand the presence of US troops in the Baltics

The US should increase its presence in the Baltic countries to contain Russia.

Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas stated this in an interview with the British newspaper Financial Times.

“The best deterrent (aggression. -

) is having strong friends.

If they bully you at school, a bully will not get to you if you have big, strong friends, and the same thing with containment ... The best means of deterring Russia is the American flag, ”Kallas said.

The Prime Minister noted that NATO, in turn, should strengthen its eastern flank in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, regardless of whether Russia “invades” Ukraine or not.

She also called outrageous Moscow's demand for NATO to return to the 1997 borders.

In her opinion, the unity that the bloc demonstrated by declaring the unacceptability of this demand was "an unpleasant surprise for the Russians."

Kallas believes that NATO should not concede to Russia even in such "little things" as limiting military exercises and arms control.

“What should the West and NATO offer Russia to reduce tensions?

This question is already a trap.

NATO did not create this situation.

If anyone should carry out de-escalation, it is Russia,” she said.

• Estonian Prime Minister Kaya Kallas

• AP

• © Kenzo Tribouillard

muscle play

The North Atlantic Alliance has stepped up patrolling the airspace of the Baltic states and deployed multinational battle groups there after the events in Ukraine in 2014.

In particular, the French and British military are stationed in Estonia.

“In any case, we would like to see the strengthening of the eastern flank of NATO.

Not only if they (Russia. -

) invade Ukraine.

We have been striving for this for a long time, ”Kaya Kallas told FT.

In particular, the chancellor of the Estonian Ministry of Defense Kusti Salm on January 17 told the broadcasting company ERR that Tallinn is ready to host up to five thousand NATO soldiers from the rapid reaction forces.

The Kremlin then called Salm's statement proof of who is really the cause of the current tension.

“As for Estonia’s requests and so on to deploy additional military contingents on its territory, this is just proof of the validity of our concerns, and this is proof that we are not the cause of the escalation of tension,” RIA Novosti quoted the words of the press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov.

The fact that NATO has now developed activity to a level exceeding the capacity of the alliance at the end of the Cold War, was acknowledged by the bloc's Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

In an interview with the American newspaper The Wall Street Journal on January 17, he noted that there are now more American soldiers in Europe than seven years ago.

At the same time, he laid the blame for this state of affairs on the Russian leadership.

Allegedly, by its actions in recent years against Ukraine and the West, it forced the United States to send more of its military to Europe.

• NATO military equipment in Europe

• © AP Photo/Francisco Seco

Meanwhile, the Estonian government has decided to allocate an additional €380 million to strengthen its security.

These funds will be directed to national defense in the period from 2022 to 2025.

“The defense budget for 2022 has become the largest in the history of our country, amounting to 2.3% of its GDP. However, in view of the unprecedented level of tension in our region, the government has unanimously supported the need to allocate more than €380 million in additional funding in the coming years in relation to a wide range of issues related to the sphere of national security, so that we are able to quickly and effectively respond to any threats of a military or hybrid nature,” Kai Kallas said in a statement posted on the website of the country’s Ministry of Defense on January 20.

At the same time, she acknowledged that so far nothing threatens Estonia militarily.

However, in her opinion, the allocation of additional funds for defense is a signal to everyone that Tallinn takes its security very seriously.

So, most of this amount - € 340 million - will be used to strengthen the country's immediate defense potential, and the rest of the money will go to the development of non-military state defense structures.

In particular, more than €32 million will go to the Ministry of the Interior.

Friendship with Ukraine

In addition, Estonia positions itself as a country that is not indifferent to the fate of Ukraine.

Thus, Tallinn is preparing to transfer American Javelin anti-tank missiles to Kiev.

As the head of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic, Kalle Laanet, announced on January 21, the United States gave its permission for this delivery.

“In this way, we demonstrate our support for Ukraine not only in words, but also in deeds.

The allies are united, but you always need someone to take the initiative.

Estonia is definitely one of those countries,” Laanet said.

• Ukrainian military with American Javelin anti-tank systems

• AP

• © Ukrainian Defense Ministry Press Service

Estonia also plans to transfer 122-mm howitzers to Ukraine.

However, in this case, Finland and Germany, as the former owners of the howitzers, must authorize the transfer.

At the same time, according to The Wall Street Journal, Berlin did not give its permission to Tallinn.

The German government opposes sending weapons to Ukraine in order to avoid an escalation of the situation in the country.

At the same time, Tallinn has previously handed over weapons to Kiev.

However, as experts emphasize, it was an obsolete model of Soviet weapons.

So, in July 2020, 2.4 thousand Makarov pistols were sent to Ukraine, which were not used by the Estonian army due to non-compliance with NATO standards.

Your interest

Experts interviewed by RT note that the current statements by the Prime Minister of Estonia indicate that Tallinn is trying to use the situation with Ukraine to its advantage.

After all, if it were not for the current tension, then the Baltic countries would not have received such attention from the United States.

“Estonia, like other Baltic countries, is part of a group of states that are the conductors of US interests.

In many ways, their geopolitical and geo-economic significance depends on whether they can use the current situation to their advantage and turn their territories into a springboard for anti-Russian activities, ”Nikita, deputy director of the RUDN Institute for Strategic Studies and Forecasts, a member of the Civic Chamber of Russia, explained in an interview with RT Danyuk.

He noted that the American contingent for Estonia is a factor in strengthening its position and access to direct communication with the United States.

“These are great opportunities in the context of financial and economic income, because the expansion of military structures is beneficial to the Estonian budget,” the analyst added.

This opinion is shared by Sergey Rekeda, General Director of the Center for the Study of Integration Prospects.

• The White house

• Legion Media

“The geopolitical function of Estonia, like other Baltic countries, is to lobby for a hawkish position in EU relations with Russia, to act as a skirmisher of anti-Russian statements.

At one time, they were one of the main lobbyists for sanctions against Russia after the events of 2014.

And they were not stopped by the fact that these sanctions affected their economy as well, ”the analyst said in an interview with RT.

Now, he added, processes are underway to establish a new balance of security in Europe, a new architecture in relations between Russia and NATO, Russia and the United States.

“However, Estonia does not like this, as it is afraid of losing the significance for Washington that it believes it has now.

Therefore, Tallinn is trying to disrupt the beginnings of a constructive dialogue between Russia and the United States,” Rekeda explained.

To this end, according to Nikita Danyuk, Tallinn also took up the supply of weapons to Ukraine under the pretext of Russia's supposedly imminent "attack" on it.

After all, this allows you to contribute to the overall tension in the region.

“Of course, Estonia supplies weapons to Ukraine exclusively “trophy”, which it inherited from other countries.

After all, Tallinn does not have real weapons that could increase the Ukrainian potential.

Therefore, Estonia engaged in deliveries, including to maintain its image as a friend of Ukraine.

In addition, in this way the Estonians show that they are on the topic of the current agenda and act on an equal footing with such major players as the United States, ”the expert concluded.