Powered By Blogger

06 July, 2018



✔︎ Per Salon"Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin will be meeting privately after the NATO summit, and apparently will not even have an American translator with them. Trump is confident that he knows what he's doing. … That's absurd. He's a rich kid from New York who bankrupted casinos, sold some cheap junk, had a TV show and fooled a whole lot of gullible Americans. But Vladimir Putin actually has been preparing for this stuff his whole life. And he definitely knows a useful idiot when he sees one.”- Salon


✔︎ U.S. Ambassador to Estonia Resigns in Disgust After Trump Anti-Europe Rants  - Foreign Policy Magazine


✔︎ 12 Estonian ambassadors changing posts this summer  - ERR


✔︎ No end to the war in eastern Ukraine  Carnegie Europe


✔︎  U.S. Senate panel upholds finding that Russia backed Trump, contradicting House  The Hill | Politico



Väimela manor Matussaare chapel foto:

- 2014-2018 Archive:



_____________

Friday 6. July
_____________


- Hinnatõus Eestis on taas kiirenenud 
(Postimees)
"Kaubad olid 2017. aasta juuniga võrreldes 4,1 protsenti ja teenused 3,9 protsenti kallimad. Kaupade ja teenuste administratiivselt reguleeritavad hinnad on eelmise aasta juuniga võrreldes tõusnud 11,2 protsenti ja mittereguleeritavad hinnad 2,1 protsenti. Viimati oli tarbijahinnaindeksi muutus eelmise aasta sama kuuga võrreldes üle 4 protsendi novembris 2017, mil muutus oli 4,2 protsenti."



Interview: Jonatan Vseviov, the next Estonian Ambassador to the US
(ERR)
"Despite changes in administration, Estonian-US alliance, NATO ties (are) steadfast.”
"That which we are experiencing today is comparable to windy weather or a stormy sea," he said. "This is not an abyss that we are about to fall into, but rather a plane shaking somewhat due to turbulence. But we know, of course, that while we may experience turbulence, in most cases it isn't dangerous."

- 12 Estonian ambassadors changing posts
(ERR)
"The extent of this summer's changes … was affected by last year's Estonian presidency of the Council of the EU, due to which a number of ambassadorial assignment changes were delayed where possible."



Kaitseministeerium tahab sõjaväeosa laiendada, kuid Võru elanikud on selle vastu
(Lõuna Leht)
"Plaanime sinna laod transpordivahenditele, mida on vaja sõja ajal kasutada, ning alale paigutatavaid masinaid käivitatakse vaid kolm-neli korda aastas."



- Laevafirmade piletihinnad on rootsikeelsetelt kodulehtedelt ostes odavamad
(ERR)
" Sama reisi ning sihtpunkti silmas pidades erinevad hinnad kahe portaali vahel kuni 15 eurot. Sama kehtib ka Viking Line ettevõtte puhul."



- A captain's house in Estonia
(Deutsche Welle)
"Architect Ülar Mark's weekend home is anything but modern minimalism. His renovation of a captain's house lies on the Baltic Coast in Estonia's Lahemaa National Park."



- Trump rails against NATO and Germany, while touting his fitness to face Vladimir Putin
(Washington Examiner)
"Trump devoted a large portion of his Make America Great Again rally in Great Falls, Mont., last night (5. July) deriding NATO allies and defending his meetings with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin. His most strident attack was leveled at Germany’s Angela Merkel, who he accused of playing the U.S. for suckers…" 

- Trump will ride back to Europe 
(EU Observer)
"The first time he came to Brussels, in February 2017, US leader Donald Trump caused an upset by physically barging aside the prime minister of Montenegro at a Nato summit and by declining to pledge support to Nato collective defence. This week he is coming back, for a summit at Nato's new HQ on Wednesday (11. July) and Thursday (12. July), amid reports he might pull out US soldiers from Germany - the backbone of Nato's Russia-deterrent in Europe - unless European states spend more on defence.

Helsinki: Commuters, airline passengers, tourists to feel pinch of Trump-Putin summit
(Yle)
“… Trump is expected to arrive in Helsinki on 15 July. The Border Guard said that it may step up monitoring of Finnish borders in the days leading up to the Trump-Putin meeting and will focus attention on key border entry points such as Helsinki Airport and the country's main harbours."
--
"Although EU citizens are not usually subjected to monitoring as they move within the Schengen area, passport checks have in the past been introduced during special events such as the World Athletics Championships in Helsinki in 2005."

"A US government jet landed at Turku Airport on Tuesday evening, leading to speculation that US President Donald Trump might visit the Finnish president's nearby summer residence.”



- Despite the Helsinki Summit, the Hybrid War Is Here to Stay
(Carnegie Moscow Center)
"Since 2014, Russia and the US have been embroiled in a conflict comparable to, yet very different from, the Cold War; one that is as, or even more, dangerous than its twentieth-century predecessor."
"Even with the odds against it by a wide margin, the Kremlin is not about to submit. To compensate for its weakness relative to Washington, Moscow has resorted to asymmetrical behavior: acting swiftly to keep the opponent off balance, running higher risks, reaching out to all relevant players, building regional and local advantages, using new tools, and acting aggressively in the informational space. ..."



- No End in Sight in Eastern Ukraine
(Carnegie Europe)
"The conflict, as the international officials still monitoring and mediating it emphasize, is not sporadic and intermittent, but permanent and ongoing. Since April there has been a new spike in fighting with use of heavy weapons. Officially, there were 81 civilian casualties—19 killed, 62 injured—in the three months mid-February to mid-May. There have been many more since then.”
--
"Why the deterioration? Both sides, it seems, have given up on the peace process as the campaigns crank up for Ukraine’s presidential and parliamentary elections next year. That does not mean the Minsk agreements are dead. Something akin to them will undoubtedly form the eventual deal. It means there is no political will to pursue them on either side. And the huge uncertainty about what U.S. policy toward Russia means under Donald Trump does not help. "

- EU Extends Sanctions for Russia Over Crimea, Donbass
(The Moscow Times)




_____________

Thursday 5. July 
_____________


- Viis põhjust, mis Putinile seda kohtumist vaja on
(Karmo Tüüri Blogi)
"Eksisteerib vähemalt viis põhjust, miks Putin hea meelega kohtub Trumpiga, seejuures andes endale aru, et vaevalt õnnestub USA’ga midagi kokku leppida ja isegi kui õnnestub, siis neid leppeid ka täita."

- Four protests planned for Trump-Putin Helsinki summit, so far
(Yle)



Intervjuu: Siim Kallas
(ERR)
"Kallas visandas Putini jutupunktid kohtumiseks Trumpiga."



- Construction and maintenance of Estonia's eastern border to cost EUR 320 mln
(Baltic Times | Postimees)
"The Ministry of the Interior is to propose to the government approving the construction and maintenance funding of the eastern border in full and to consider it a strategic investment necessity for Estonia, and to consider it as a priority when forming the government's positions for the bills of the EU's 2021-2028 budgetary period."



- CERN tegi Eestile ettepaneku alustada liitumisläbirääkimisi
(Postimees)
"CERNiga liitudes saavad Eesti ettevõtted osaleda tippteadusasutuse hangetes. Eesti inseneridel avaneb võimalus tihedamaks koostööks maailmatasemel ametikaaslastega, sest kuigi CERN on teadusasutus, töötab seal ühe teadlase kohta kümme inseneri – 22 liikmesriigiga CERN haldab Suurt Osakestepõrgutit, mis on maailma suurim osakestefüüsika labor."

- CERN invites Estonia to submit membership application
(ERR)



- Eesti uurimisasutused ei teinud rahapesu uurimiseks midagi
(ERR)
"Danske Banki Eesti filiaal oli seotud Euroopa kõige suurema rahapesuskandaaliga, aga uurimisasutused ei teinud midagi selle peatamiseks," rääkis Browder ja lubas, et taotleb uue uurimise alustamist."



- Danske Bank's Estonian operations was allegedly used to launder US $8.3b
(Business Times)
"The amount, which represents roughly a third of Danske's market value and almost 3 per cent of the Danish GDP, is more than double that previously estimated, according to figures first reported by Berlingske and confirmed by Bloomberg. The alleged illicit transactions span the years 2007 to 2015.”

- Danish watchdog may open new probe of alleged Danske Bank money laundering
(Euronews)
"Danske Bank has admitted to flaws in its anti money-laundering controls in Estonia and launched its own investigation into the case, which is due to present its findings in September. But Denmark’s new business minister said the bank’s own investigation might not be enough."
--
“It looks like a lot of money has been made on illegal activities. This is very serious, and I think we need clarity about it,” Rasmus Jarlov said, according tolocal media."



EU: Tech Giants Win a Battle Over Copyright Rules in Europe
(New York Times)
"That battle flared up in Europe on Thursday. Two powerful industries faced off — technology against media, platforms against publishers — in an unusually aggressive lobbying campaign in the European Parliament over a bill that would impose some of the world’s strictest copyright laws, which would have required tech companies to filter out unlicensed content and pay for its use. On this occasion, tech prevailed; the proposal was voted down."

- Europe’s copyright fight is just getting started
(Politico-Europe)
"The European Parliament voted Thursday to take the EU’s proposed overhaul of online copyright rules back to the drawing board, reopening talks on a controversial law that affects media, creative industries and internet giants. If Europe’s copyright rules got enforced, Silicon Valley giants would be saddled overnight with vast new responsibilities to monitor almost every piece of content uploaded onto their platforms for potential copyright infringements."







_____________

Wednesday 4. July
_____________

- U.S. Intelligence Community Assessment: Assessing Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent U.S. Elections
(U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence)
"We assess Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the U.S . presidential election. Russia's goals were to undermine public faith in the U.S. democratic process, denigrate Secretary Clinton, and harm her electability and potential presidency. We further assess Putin and the Russian Government developed a clear preference for President-elect Trump.”

- Senate panel upholds finding that Russia backed Trump, contradicting House
(The Hill | Politico)
"The Senate Intelligence Committee has unequivocally upheld the conclusion of the intelligence community that Russia developed a "clear preference" for then-candidate Donald Trump in the 2016 election and sought to help him win the White House."

"The Intelligence Committee's summary doesn't comment on whether Kremlin operatives tried to recruit Trump aides, a question that has remained unanswered since before the Mueller probe was launched. Reports have revealed that more than a dozen Trump campaign officials and figures had contact with Russian sources during the course of the heated presidential race."

- Senate Intelligence Committee agrees: Putin was helping Trump. Now they’re meeting in private
(Salon)
“… and GOP senators kiss up to Moscow."



- Ajateenistusse läks 1,849 noormeest ja 19 neidu
(Postimees)

- Finland has second thoughts about its women soldiers
(BBC)
"Finns are now asking if voluntary service is good for women and whether or not it is the right model for their armed forces."



- Putin will run rings round Trump in Helsinki
(The Guardian)



- EU to migrants: Go home and stay home
(Politico)
"Three years ago, Merkel opened Germany’s borders to a wave of refugees and migrants, mostly from Syria’s civil war, saying “We can manage this.” Now, Europe has decided it cannot manage even a much smaller flow of migrants — arrivals are 95 percent down from the October 2015 peak, according to official EU figures — and is prepared to go to great lengths to stop it. It’s hard to dispute Philippe Lamberts, the Belgian floor leader of the Greens group in the European Parliament, who said EU leaders had effectively buried the right to asylum in Europe."
--
“From now on, it will be virtually impossible to submit an asylum request on European soil,” Lamberts said of the summit outcome. “Far from blocking the road to the extreme right, as some still try to pretend, the heads of state and government have adopted its program.”




_____________

Tuesday 3. July
_____________


- Stalin and Hitler Needed Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact Only for Its Secret Protocols
(Window on Eurasia)
“… by making this deal with Hitler, Stalin was seeking to occupy much of Eastern Europe already before the war, a goal that he achieved only after defeating his former ally and taking even more than the secret protocols of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact had given him."



- Developments are giving Estonia pause
by Neeme Raud
(Postimees)
"Trump has suggested that the United States may recognize Russia's 2014 annexation of the Ukrainian territory of Crimea. He has appeared to undermine the European Union. He has accused NATO members of not spending enough on defense and — as Axios has reported — directly disparaged the alliance in front of other world leaders. Washington Post recalls how Estonia’s neighbor Sweden handed out leaflets warning people to prepare for a possible war. …"



- Trump, Power and the Value of NATO
by Julian Lindley-French
(Blog)
"President Trump is fascinated by power and regards all institutions, be it NATO, the EU or the UN merely as constraints on America the Exceptional and havens for the weak. It is why he seeks common ground on occasions with Spartans like Putin – they understand each other. The only way for Europeans to convince President Trump of the utility of NATO is for themselves to become Athenians or at least Melians with Attitude. This is because the only way a rules-based order can be maintained is if those rules carry sanction – covenants without the sword and all that.”--
--
"Therefore, the specific challenge at next week’s NATO Brussels Summit for Europe’s leaders will be to convince President Trump and John Bolton-type Americans of the value of institutions in international relations, i.e. NATO. If they are to meet that challenge Europeans will need to reverse a culture that has become deep-rooted since World War Two and the founding of the European Union, namely that institutions exist to constrain power, rather than mechanisms for the aggregation of power.”
"The simple, hard truth that President Trump is forcing Europeans to face is that the transatlantic relationship of old is dead, America can no longer afford it."



- In Pointed Letters, Trump Demands More Defense Spending From NATO Allies
by Julie Hirschfeld Davis
(New York Times)
"John R. Bolton, Mr. Trump’s national security adviser, said Sunday that it was NATO members who refused to spend more on defense — not the president — who were responsible for undercutting the alliance."
--
“The president wants a strong NATO,” Mr. Bolton said in an interview on CBS’s Face the Nation. “If you think Russia’s a threat, ask yourself this question: Why is Germany spending less than 1.2 percent of its G.N.P.? When people talk about undermining the NATO alliance, you should look at those who are carrying out steps that make NATO less effective militarily.”

- 8 NATO countries to hit defense spending target
(Politico-Europe)
"While France is the next closest to the target, with defense spending at 1.79 percent of GDP, a NATO spokesperson said that Lithuania and Latvia would beat Paris to hitting 2 percent, and are expected to do so in 2018. Whether the news will please Trump for long is another matter: even with eight NATO allies hitting the target, that leaves 21 falling short."

- Germany’s defense budget gets a small boost of €650 million
(Handelsblatt)
"Berlin already abandoned the original target of 2 percent of GDP by 2024. The new boost of €650 million ($754 million) grudgingly given by Finance Minister Olaf Scholz brings the increase in spending to €4 billion and the overall defense budget next year to €42.9 billion. … German spending on defense has been one of the many contentious points between Berlin and President Donald Trump."

"To reach the NATO goal, Germany would have to double defense spending to nearly €75 billion by 2024.”

- Saksa kaitseminister väitis, et Berliin on NATO-sse palju panustanud
(ERR)
"Berliinis ajakirjanikega rääkinud Von der Leyen aga juhtis tähelepanu sellele, et Saksamaa on sõdurite NATO missioonidele saatmise poolest alliansis teisel kohal ning et Saksamaa on olnud valmis võtma juhtrolli Balti riikide kaitsmise eest …"

- German defense minister strikes back on NATO spending target
(Politico-Europe)
"Speaking to reporters in Berlin ahead of a NATO summit next week, Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen pushed back against the criticism by Trump, pointing to Germany’s broader contributions as the second-largest provider of troops to NATO operations and its willingness to take on a leading role in defense of the Baltics."



- The EU needs a new constitution
by Steffen Dobbert and Stefan Lorenzmeier
(ZEIT)
[An essay on 'why it is now time to give the EU a new legal and emotional status and deepen integration’.]



- EU leaders eye new containment strategy - for Trump
by David M. Herszenhorn and Jacopo Barigazzi
(Politico-Europe)
"The consensus is to avoid inciting the combustible US president."



- NATO’s Presence in the East: Necessary but Still Not Sufficient
by John R. Deni
(War on the Rocks)
"The United States and its NATO allies have dramatically strengthened alliance deterrence against Russia in northeastern Europe through an initiative titled Enhanced Forward Presence (EFP). The initiative, which was born out of NATO’s 2016 Warsaw summit, provides a vital tripwire against a Russian attack. … What is also striking about the EFP initiative is the degree of participation. This reflects both the emerging consensus among NATO allies that Russia’s actions in 2014 were more than just a passing storm in the European security environment and the allies’ durable commitment to collective security despite occasional dustups over issues like burden-sharing. In Estonia, where the United Kingdom has the lead as the framework country – and hence contributes the most forces – Denmark and Iceland also contribute personnel. In Latvia, the Canadians are in the lead …"



- Donald Trump’s trans-Atlantic policy is a contradiction in terms
by Stephen M. Walt
(Foreign Policy)
"It is no secret that U.S. President Donald Trump has an instinctive animus against the European Union and NATO. He supported the Brexit vote in the United Kingdom, reportedly advised French President Emmanuel Macron that his country should leave the union too, and last week falsely claimed that the EU was created “to take advantage of the United States.”
"Although a good case can be made for gradually reducing the U.S. role in Europe and letting Europeans handle their own defense, moving in that direction actually makes the EU more rather than less important, because it plays an important role in keeping Europe peaceful and prosperous. If Trump wants to do less for NATO, in short, he should be embracing the EU instead of denigrating it."





_____________

Monday 2. July 
_____________


- U.S. Ambassador to Estonia Resigns in Disgust After Trump Anti-Europe Rants
(Foreign Policy | Washington Post | CBC)
"James D. Melville Jr.'s resignation comes at a crucial moment for independent countries along Russia's western border amid the possibility of military conflicts and as Trump suggests he is rethinking the United States' traditional support for its allies in Moscow's shadow."



- USA suursaadik Eestis Jim Melville teatas Facebookis, et lahkub Trumpi poliitika tõttu ametist
(Delfi)
"Melville teatas töökoha üles ütlemisest täna hilisõhtul Facebookis isiklikul leheküljel avaldatud postituses, mis on nähtav ainult tema 841 sõbrale."



- Suursaadiku lahkumine
Jaak Jõerüüt
(Edasi Org.)
"Ainult sisemise väärikusega inimene saab teha tegusid, mis võivad talle endale küll ajutisi ebamugavusi tekitada, kuid teevad tema maale ja rahvale pikas perspektiivis head."




- Arrival of 3,000 migrants would cause state of emergency
(ERR)
"New law would allow PPA to scale back applicants' rights and entitlements."



- Helsinki losing millions in unpaid parking fines issued to … Estonians
(Yle)
"The largest number of parking tickets written out to foreign-registered vehicles by traffic wardens during 2012-2017 were issued to Estonians. City records show that Estonian vehicles were behind about 75 percent of the 69,000 parking violations issued to foreigners during that five year period."
--
"Some 7.5 percent of parking tickets went to Russian-registered vehicles and five percent were issued to cars from Sweden."



- US and Russian officials hold 'frank' talks before Trump-Putin summit
(The Guardian)
"It was the first time US lawmakers had visited Moscow as a delegation since 2013, before the annexation of Crimea, Russia’s intervention in Syria’s civil war – and meddling in the 2016 US presidential elections."

- US and Russia tussle to control the narrative before summit
(Politico)
“Putin will definitely try to secure statements from the president that he thinks are in Russia’s interest. And he will not be afraid to read them out to the press. In fact, he won’t be afraid to read them out with Trump sitting right there.”

- Putin-Trump summit to bring huge delegations, press corps to Helsinki
(Yle)

- Kremlin: Everything Up For Discussion (Except Crimea)
(RFERL)



- Revisiting an “Open Letter” to Obama in the Era of Trump
by Edward Lucas
(CEPA)
"Describing the West’s difficulties with Russia as a new problem is a common and irritating mistake. In fact, people have been worrying about Kremlin revisionism and mischief since the 1990s. Another error is to assume that Donald Trump’s surprise election victory in 2016 undermined a previously solid European security order.”
“The level of concern is new. But the issues are not. On 16. July 2009, exactly nine years before the planned Trump-Putin meeting in Helsinki, Atlanticist public figures from countries that had emerged from Soviet captivity two decades previously issued an open letter to Barack Obama’s administration, expressing grave fears for the transatlantic security relationship. It was long, heartfelt, and outspoken. …"

- Full text of the open letter dated 16. July 2009
(RFERL)





_____________

Russia
Trust No One"
_____________


- Despite World Cup Excitement, Russians Angry Over Retirement Reform
(The Moscow Times)
"Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev announced the reform, which would push the retirement age past the life expectancy of some Russians, on June 14, the opening day of the football tournament. The Kremlin was accused of using the World Cup as a cover to avoid dissent as it pushes through unpopular measures. The World Cup did beat out the announcement of retirement reform as the most memorable event in June for Russians surveyed by the independent Levada Analytical Center."


- Three Pieces of Bad Economic News for Putin
(Window on Eurasia)
"Vladimir Putin may not have been able to use the World Cup to distract Russians sufficiently to prevent them from protesting rising gas prices and plans to increase taxes and the retirement age; but he has achieved one thing: Western coverage of Russia has focused on the world cup rather than an avalanche of bad economic news. …"

- Russians outraged by pension reform plan
(Deutsche Welle)
"Tens of thousands of Russians have been protesting against a government pension reform proposal that includes raising the retirement age for both men and women."



- Putin Says World Cup Has Broken Stereotypes About Russia
(Moscow Times)



- The Great Russian Disinformation Campaign
(The Atlantic)
"In a new book, Timothy Snyder explains how Russia revolutionized information warfare—and presages its consequences for democracies in Europe and the U.S."

"The Road to Unfreedom

- Russian Internet companies to make every word accessible to the FSB
(Meduza)
"Signed on June 26, 2018, and published two days later, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has issued a government order requiring Internet companies to start storing a vast array of user data. The requirements, established as part of Russia’s “anti-terrorism” Yarovaya law, apply to users’ text-based, audio, and visual correspondence dating back six months."



- Upcoming Trump-Putin summit gives Russians hope for US thaw
(Christian Science Monitor)
"But to all appearances, the Kremlin couldn't be happier about the July 16 meeting between Mr. Trump and Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, Finland. While Russian experts caution that no diplomatic breakthroughs are likely, they are taking the White House's offer to meet as a sign that the neo-cold-war chill that began under Barack Obama has finally reached rock bottom."
--
"And some, looking at the partisan chaos in the US through the prism of Russian political culture, see signs that Trump is finally whipping his rivals into line and asserting his will as a strong president should.”
“The relationship has been a complete mess [under Trump], and US policy toward Russia has been incoherent and unpredictable. We believe the situation is outright dangerous,” says Sergey Karaganov, an influential senior Russian foreign policy hand. “The atmosphere is still toxic, but it looks like Trump is winning” in his battles with the Washington establishment."



- Avoiding Fake Deals With Moscow
by Janusz Bugajski
(CEPA)
"Washington’s strategy must deter the Kremlin from undertaking any offensive actions in Europe that could provoke a harder American reaction. To achieve this objective, the defense of key allies such as Poland, Romania, and the three Baltic states must be consolidated. Some measures have already been implemented to more effectively protect the security of these vulnerable NATO allies, including the Enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) deployments. But more needs to be accomplished in the coming years. In particular, NATO needs to boost its capabilities to quickly respond to any potential military moves by Moscow. In addition, Washington needs to consider the long-term advantages of establishing a more permanent military presence in Poland, as Warsaw has recently requested."



- Interview with Mikhail Khodorkovsky
(Spiegel)
“Former Russian oligarch and regime critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky talks about the importance of the World Cup for Moscow's reputation and of a possible end to the Putin era."

________
____
_