✔ President Kersti Kaljulaid videotervituses väliseestlastele
(Kaljulaid’s Video Message to Estonians living abroad - English subtitles)
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Friday 24. Feb.
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- Eesti Vabariigi 99. Aastapäev Teemaleht
(Postimees)
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- President Kersti Kaljulaid Vabariigi Aastapäeva Kõne
(ERR - video ja tekst)
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- Five Ways You Can Celebrate Estonia’s National Day
(Foreign Policy)
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- Estonia marks independence day with military parade
(Washington Post)
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- Riigilipp heisati pidulikult Pika Hermanni torni
(ERR - video ja sõnavõtud)
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- Vabaduse väljakul tähistas tuhat sõjaväelast paraadiga vabariigi aastapäeva
(Delfi)
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- Pärgade asetamine võidusamba jalamile
(ERR video)
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- Stiilset Vabariigi Aastapäeval | Fashion
(Delfi)
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- Trump õnnitles Kaljulaidi vabariigi aastapäeva puhul
(ERR | Delfi)
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- Putin õnnitles Eestit vabariigi aastapäeva puhul
(ERR)
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- Putin congratulates Estonia on national day
(The Baltic Times)
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"Vladimir Putin congratulated his Estonian counterpart Kersti Kaljulaid on the occasion of the Estonian independence day.”
(Pro-Kremlin Sputnik)
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✔ Wary of divided loyalties, Estonia reaches out to its Russians
(Reuters)
"It is a sign of the times in Estonia, a Baltic state always suspicious of the Kremlin's ambitions in the region, that Prime Minister Juri Ratas is learning Russian. … So while Ratas is taking language lessons, his new government is trying to make it easier for Russian speakers to obtain Estonian citizenship and to improve the border region's economy, where unemployment is high."
- Moscow’s Transformation of Kaliningrad into ‘Unsinkable Aircraft Carrier’ is a Threat to Europe
(Window on Eurasia)
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- President andis riikliku teenetemärgi 113 inimesele
(Delfi)
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- Metsakalmistul asetatakse pärjad Eesti kõrgete riigitegelaste haudadele
(Õhtuleht)
"President Kaljulaid asetas pärja Eesti esimese presidendi Konstantin Pätsi hauale."
- USA kindralid ja admiralid tutvuvad Eesti riigikaitse süsteemiga
(ERR)
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- Kindral Breedlove tõstis esile Eesti rolli ka teiste Venemaa piiririikide eest seismisel
(Postimees)
- Postimehe esiküljed vabariigi sünnipäevaks: odav vein, kiluvõileivad ja Hitleri pilt
(Postimees)
- Commentary: Whose Baltic Stability?
(Brian Whitmore)
“… the more Finland and Sweden cooperate with NATO, the more defensible the Baltic states become in the face of potential Russian aggression."
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- Latvians Ready to Defend Their Country Underground if Necessary
(Paul Goble)
"Fifty-five percent of Latvians say they are ready to take up arms to defend their country in the event of a Russian invasion, and 39 percent say they will join or support in one way or another a popular resistance movement …"
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- Commentary: Battle of narratives - Russia's war on history
(CEPA - Edward Lucas)
"The EU and NATO did not widen their membership at the behest of masterminds in Brussels. They admitted countries which were pounding on the door, demanding the security, prosperity, liberty, decency, dignity and the like which they had been denied by the Iron Curtain."
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- Lithuanians still fear neighboring Russia
(Deutsche Welle)
"The Lithuanian town of Rukla is situated just 100 kilometers from the Russian border. Inhabitants fear they could be the first targets of a Russian invasion. NATO is taking the threat seriously and has decided to station troops there."
- Presidendi vanaisa suunas Pätsi propagandat
(Õhtuleht)
- Estonia's start-up visas attract specialists from Ukraine and India
(BNN)
- Opinion: What I saw in Kiev
(Politico-Europe)
"Ukraine’s democrats are desperate for American leadership, but they fear Trump will abandon them to Moscow’s clutches.”
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"President Barack Obama’s policy toward Ukraine and Russia helped to maintain an imperfect and fragile ceasefire, yet in the days since his successor Donald Trump took office, the fighting in Avidiivka, an industrial city near the Russian border, has intensified to levels not seen in years, testing the mettle of the new administration. So far, Trump is failing the test. … To date, the Trump administration has failed to put forward a cohesive foreign policy on either Ukraine or Russia.”
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- Missuguse näoga on Euroopa Liidu kaitsealane koostöö
(Diplomaatia)
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- The Face of EU Defense Cooperation
(Diplomaatia)
- Russia Says Military Neutrality Of Sweden and Finland Is "Crucial For Security"
(RFERL)
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- Commentary by Brian Whitmore
“… in Moscow-speak, the 'stability of the Baltic region' means Russia's continued ability to harass and threaten the Baltic states."
- Guided-missile cruiser USS Hue City Arrives in Tallinn
(U.S. Navy)
- NATO, the Middle East and Eastern Europe
(Geopolitical Futures)
"Europeans are charging that that Americans may have military force but lack political commitment to Europe. The Americans are charging that the Europeans may be politically committed to NATO but lack the military force to give meaning to their commitment. The real issue is that NATO has achieved its original mission, and no agreement exists on what its mission is now."
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- Estonian intelligence chief warns of provocations targeting NATO soldiers
(ERR)
"Estonian and British officials have been discussing the threat for months in order to prepare the 800 British personnel bound for Estonia to avoid Cold War-style spy games. The deployment will provide a perfect opportunity for Moscow to create a false impression of Western aggression by spreading fake news stories."
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"We are seeing some of it already," Marran said. "Some degree of noise along the lines of 'These troops are not welcome by the local population."
- Europe's Schengen Agreement allows free movement among 26 countries. Will it last?
(PRI)
“After the suspect in the Berlin Christmas market attack managed to cross four borders before being shot and killed by police in Italy, there was renewed concern over how porous Schengen frontiers are. Germany increased checks on some of its borders, and French conservative presidential candidate François Fillon called for a Schengen reform with beefed-up security on external borders."
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"But political scientist Wihtol de Wenden warns against retreating from an agreement that she says promotes economic growth and understanding between Europeans. “In this period of doubt, in this period of rising nationalist ideologies, we need this exchange of Europeans, also for the European identity."
- Berliin ja Pariis kritiseerisid Moskvat Ida-Ukraina passiavantüüri pärast
(Postimees)
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- Moscow is Handing Out Russian Passports in Donbass
(Paul Goble)
“… it is an indication that Moscow may very well have had enough with negotiating about the fate of the Donbass and is prepared to live with or at least threaten to live with a frozen conflict there for a long time."
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- Laika Studios Loves Estonian Animation
(Deep Baltic)
"I met the legendary Priit and Olga Pärn at a film festival in Rio seven years ago. They are spectacular visionaries of animation, of Estonian culture – really of world culture. In the animation community, and of course all over Estonia, they are beloved and they invited me to their festival, Animated Dreams in Tallinn …"
- Juhtkiri: Kameeleon Mailis Reps
(Postimees)
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- Education Minister Mailis Reps entrapped by Russian propaganda
(Postimees)
- OpEd: Sharing the NATO Burden
(New York Times)
"Washington needs to do a lot more to convince NATO allies, especially those on Russia’s periphery, that America has their back. Perhaps by the time Mr. Trump visits NATO in May he will have it right, and the alliance will once again present a unified front to Vladimir Putin and Islamist radicals."
- Opinion: Baltic Russians - Are They Sudetendeutsche?
(Forbes)
"One of the senior members of the Estonian foreign ministry, who spoke at the conference which I attended, mocked the Western mass media for presenting the Estonian Russians as ready to revolt in Sudetendeutsche fashion and Putin as being ready to invade to stretch Russia’s helpful hand to “brothers and sisters.” He expressed his confidence in Estonian security, not only because of his belief in NATO, but also in the basic stability of Estonian society; there is a clear disinterest of the majority of Russian Estonians to play the role of Sudetendeutsche."
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- Kaljulaid: Has no doubt the EU will stay together
(Deutsche Welle)
- Estonia's reputation is that of a contributor, not a consumer
(Postimees)
- Mixed messages at Munich Security Conference
(Yle)
- McCain sees European worry about Trump’s foreign policy rhetoric
(Politico-Europe)
- Profound Uncertainty in Munich: Is the United States Committed to European Security?
(War on the Rocks)
"Perhaps the conference’s most celebrated address was that of Sen. John McCain, who offered an impassioned defense of the rules-based international order, a strong transatlantic partnership based on both interests and values, and the West’s necessary role in global leadership. Numerous European participants expressed newfound appreciation for the U.S. system of checks and balances, and urged Congress to play a more active role in shaping foreign policy."
- Demands on NATO Defense Spending Are Driving a Wedge Into Europe
(Time | The Hill)
"At the head of the U.S. delegation to the conference this year was Vice President Mike Pence, whose speech felt at times like that of a barman politely insisting to a roomful of drinkers that happy hour is over.”
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- NATO commander Petr Pavel: Nato combat readiness is increasing
(Deutsche Welle)
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“Trust No One"
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✔ Trump, Putin, and the New Cold War
(The New Yorker)
"What lay behind Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, and what lies ahead?"
✔ Killer, kleptocrat, genius, spy: The many myths of Vladimir Putin
(The Guardian)
"Russia’s role in Trump’s election has led to a boom in Putinology. But do all these theories say more about us than Putin?"
- Putin’s holy war
(Politico-Europe)
“By 2030 Russia will be like medieval Spain, where the Inquisition persecuted non-believers and heretics.”
- Russia’s new military branch: Info warfare troops
(AP | Newsweek | BBC)
"Declaring the formation of the dedicated information warfare troops, Russia's defense minister Sergei Shoigu noted that "propaganda needs to be clever, smart and efficient." He wouldn't describe the troops' mission."
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- Expect more fake news from Russia, top NATO general says
(Reuters)
"It will likely use legal means, such as propaganda and they will try to influence public opinion against the (Baltic) deployments," he said. "It will get stronger ... but we will be transparent, consistent."
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- Canada is not immune to Kremlin manipulation and disinformation
(The Star)
"Canadian TV content providers give the Kremlin’s notorious, state-run cable news channel, RT, a direct line into the living rooms of Canadians to confuse, deceive and misinform them. Unlike BBC, Deutche Welle and CNN, which require Canadian consumers to pay a premium fee for these news services, RT is available on basic Rogers and Bell TV services, spewing a constant stream of conspiracy theories and manufactured anti-Western propaganda in order to erode confidence in our own government and democratic institutions."
- Tax Revolt in Belarus
(Window on Eurasia)
"90 Percent of Those Billed for Lukashenka’s Vagrants Tax Refuse to Pay"
- Valgevene välisminister loodab Minski ja Moskva probleemide lahenemist, eksperdid aga hoiatavad hübriidohtude eest
(ERR)
- Russia-Belarus rift grows as Putin loses patience
(AP)
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- Belarus Now Prime Candidate for Russian Invasion
(Window on Eurasia)
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- Spate of protests breaks out in Belarus
(AP)
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- Putin has as Much to Fear in Belarusian Protests as Lukashenka
(Window on Eurasia)
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