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| Europe |
| U.S. backs Estonia amid ongoing war memorial dispute with Russia |
| 2007-05-03 |
| TALLINN/MOSCOW, May 3 (RIA Novosti) - The United States backed Estonia Thursday in its escalating dispute with Russia over the removal of a Soviet war memorial, saying it was the Baltic state's internal affair and urging dialogue. Deputy State Department spokesman Tom Casey said: ''We have urged the Estonian and Russian governments to maintain dialogue and respect for the strong feelings on both sides.'' Casey also expressed concern ''about continuing reports of violence and harassment, including harassment of Estonian diplomatic personnel and premises, in Moscow.'' The Estonian Embassy in Moscow has been under siege by pro-Kremlin youth activists since the removal last week of a statue to Red Army soldiers killed in World War II, regarded in Russia as a "desecration" of their memory. The Baltic state has formerly complained of threats to the security of its diplomatic staff. ''We urge authorities in Moscow to do everything possible to reduce tensions, to carry out their responsibilities under the Vienna Convention concerning diplomatic premises and diplomats, and to avoid harsh words and escalation,'' Casey said. Protesters have torn down a flag from the embassy building, blocked the ambassador's car at the entrance, and on Wednesday they attempted to disrupt a news conference with Ambassador Marina Kaljurand. 'attempted'? Her bodyguards had to use pepper spray on the attackers. |
| Posted by:mrp |
| #5 Fascinating, Nesvarbukas. :-) |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2007-05-03 14:22 |
| #4 indeed, Estonia is developing too well and becoming a counterexample, a danger to the soviet propaganda that socialism (communism) is the best of the best. This is ideologic battle which RU is losing. Only 2% estonian export comes to Russia, 80% - to Finland and Sweden. Russia is losing grip of Estonia in economic sphere. Latvia and Lithuania is a bit different, they are much more dependent economically, and guaranteed not to go off the hook in the near future. Below is the link, how democracy and tolerance is understood in Russia. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0J6A-tlHENU |
| Posted by: Nesvarbukas 2007-05-03 13:57 |
| #3 NATO has also said they stand with Estonia. So far it looks Merkel, at least, realizes that to go soft on this would hurt the EU with the nordics too much. The French, I presume, are preoccupied with their election campaign. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2007-05-03 11:45 |
| #2 Estonia has also been a member of the EU since 2004. The huge body of regulations they had to adopt as a result may well dampen their economic miracle. But, the European Commission is sending a delegation to yak with Moscow, and Merkel, as current president of the European Council, has backed the Estonian PM. In the face of a Russian invasion, I figure the EU could use all those file cabinets full of 20 years' worth of white papers on the Eurocorps to bar the door, while they dial 911 for NATO. |
| Posted by: exJAG 2007-05-03 10:31 |
| #1 Estonia was getting too big for its britches and had to be taken down a few pegs, or so figures Russia. And probably the rest of quasi-socialist Europe. Estonian economy has been booming since they shifted to a flat income tax. That is not acceptable to socialists. Now it remains to be seen if Russia will trump up enough of an excuse to actually invade and take over Estonia again. And if they do, if anybody will do anything about it. I believe Estonia is now a member of NATO - will NATO fall apart rather than defend a member against agression? This is potentially a very big deal. If Putin gets daring, and gets away with it, it will not stop at Estonia - look for the rest of European SSRs to 'rejoin' the Soviet Union. Who would stop them? Not Bush - not with his hands full of Islamofascists. This scenario would explain why Putin has been so accomodating of Iran - just keeping the US occupied and diverted from Russia's goals. A simple protest of a statue in a small European country could be the most important item in the news this year - but no one will notice. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2007-05-03 09:51 |