Estonia calls on President Bush to support new democracies
American head of state’s first visit to Estonia
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The President of the United States, George W. Bush, arrived in the Estonian capital Tallinn late Monday evening.
Speaking on Tuesday, Bush reiterated that US conditions for direct negotiations with Iran have not changed. Bush said that Iran must first stop refining uranium.
Bush was speaking at a press conference along with Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves. Along with Prime Minister Andrus Ansip, Ilves plans to bring up the subject of supporting new democracies such as Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine in their discussions with the American head of state.
The Estonian delegation is complemented by a key figure in the country’s reform in the 1990s, MP and former Prime Minister Mart Laar, who now also holds a post as an economic advisor to the President of Georgia.
"With George W. Bush we plan to discuss the situation in Georgia, including ways of supporting the reformation of its market economy", Laar explained.
Estonia also planned to bring up the issue of exempting its citizens from having to apply for a visa when travelling to the United States. Bush has already indicated that he is willing to ease travel restrictions on citizens of Central and Eastern Europe.
Further topics of discussion include military cooperation in Afghanistan and Iraq, the enlargement of NATO, and energy policy issues.
On his visit to Estonia, Bush is accompanied by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
The possibility of the United States backing Estonia in its complex relationship with neighbouring Russia was not believed to be on the agenda.
"It is better to concentrate on areas where cooperation is possible", Laar points out.
The Prime Minister’s press officer Inga Jagomäe adds that Estonia’s problems with Russia have more to do with the relationship between the European Union and Russia.
The Office of the President of Estonia notes that Russia will come up in connection with the energy policy talks.
Bush’s visit to Estonia is historic, for this is the first time an American head of state is visiting the country while in the office.
"He visited Latvia and Lithuania some time ago. It would have been odd had he not visited Estonia as well", points out Andres Kasekamp, director of the Estonian Foreign Policy Institute and professor of Baltic politics at the University of Tartu.
The first US president to visit a Baltic state was Bill Clinton, who paid a visit to Latvia in 1994. The topics discussed at the time included, for example, the pulling of Russian troops out of the area.
The basis for the warm relationships between the Baltic states and the United States lies in the support these countries received from the USA during the Soviet era. The United States never recognised the occupation of the Baltic States.
Recently Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) produced a document from their archives, according to which the United States and Great Britain would have accepted the occupation of the Baltic states.
"It must have significance to day-to-day politics. It was timed just before a NATO summit meeting", Kasekamp observes.
Estonian historians, in turn, have established that the document does not contain any new information.
Bush visits some 15 foreign countries each year. So far he has not paid a visit to Finland. Kasekamp is of the opinion that Estonia’s success story fits well with the Bush’s philosophy of a liberal market economy and new democracy.
First and foremost, however, the visit reflects Bush’s gratitude towards Estonia, whose soldiers have been present in Iraq since 2003. In Afghanistan the number of Estonian troops was increased to 120 this autumn. In proportion to the size of the Estonian population, this is a significant contribution.
In Estonia, support for the participation in the war in Iraq is declining.
During Bush’s visit, the Estonian politicians have downplayed the country’s role in Iraq or Afghanistan, and instead have concentrated on Georgia, the Ukraine, and Moldova, the first target countries of the Estonian development aid.
On Tuesday afternoon Bush will continue from Tallinn to the Latvian capital of Riga for a NATO summit meeting.
Traffic in downtown Tallinn was partly disrupted for the night between Monday and Tuesday. The Hotel Radisson-SAS, where Bush was accommodated, was surrounded by concrete bollards and fences. Fences also surrounded the Presidential Palace in Kadriorg and the government offices of Toompea Hill.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 28.11.2006 - TODAY |
 Estonia calls on President Bush to support new democracies
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