The Baltic Countries Are Showing the Way Against Putin’s Russia.
An intransigence to support Ukraine that other more powerful European countries should follow.
“The Saeima recognizes that the violence committed by Russia against civilians in pursuit of political objectives is terrorism.”
In a resolution adopted Thursday, August 11, 2022, the Parliament of Latvia has qualified Russia as a state “supporting terrorism.” This decision was taken given the numerous attacks perpetrated by the Kremlin outside its territory, including those targeting Ukrainian civilians.
This is the latest act in the intractable policy that the Baltic countries are conducting against their neighbor.
Latvia and Estonia, which share a border of several hundred kilometers with Russia, and Lithuania, wedged between Belarus and the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, have never been naïve in their relations with the Kremlin. On the contrary, the Baltic States have shown courage without fail, which should inspire the European countries larger in size and economic weight.
Since the Baltic states regained their independence in the early 1990s, their relations have always been marked by mistrust. The three countries were the first to warn about the danger of Russia in 2008 during the Russo-Georgian war, then in 2014 after the annexation of Crimea, which is to be considered as the beginning of the war against Ukraine led by Russia of Vladimir Putin.
The Russian offensive in Ukraine that continued on February 24, 2022, proved them right.
And the Baltic countries reacted very quickly, strongly condemning the attack and calling on the EU to agree to apply heavy sanctions against Moscow. They sought to reduce their dependence on Russian energy supplies and banned the Kremlin's influence relays such as television channels. More symbolically, in Vilnius, a road leading to the Russian embassy has been renamed “Ukrainian Heroes Street”.
Visiting Europe is a privilege, not a human right
Almost six months after the beginning of the war in Ukraine, the mobilization does not weaken. For having participated in an event organized in Russia by the wife of the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitri Peskov, a couple of Lithuanian figure skaters lost a very honorary decoration. The president of Lithuania also asked that the skater, born in Moscow, lose her Lithuanian citizenship.
From August 18, 2022, Russians who have obtained a visa in Estonia to enter the European Union will no longer be able to stay in the country, announced Thursday Tallinn. Along with Finland, Estonia is pushing for the EU to completely ban Russian tourists from its territory.
“Stop issuing tourist visas to Russians. Visiting #Europe is a privilege, not a human right. Air travel from RU is shut down. It means while Schengen countries issue visas, neighbors to Russia carry the burden (FI, EE, LV – sole access points). Time to end tourism from Russia now,” the Estonian Prime Minister tweeted on Tuesday.
These measures of the Baltic countries irritate Russia quite a bit.
While Estonia mentions the possibility of removing a memorial dating from the Soviet era, Dmitry Peskov denounced “a war against history.” The climax of the tensions remains in Kaliningrad. In July 2022, Lithuania, through which the rail supply to the Russian enclave passes, briefly blocked the transit of goods targeted by European sanctions.
Furious, the Kremlin threatened the country with retaliation. Thursday, August 11, 2022, the traffic of certain products was again suspended, Vilnius ensuring that the annual volumes allocated to Kaliningrad were exceeded.
Could Russia, annoyed by the sanctions targeting it, one day consider invading the Baltic States? This is what Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia fear given the various military maneuvers that have taken place near their borders.
On Wednesday, August 10, 2022, the American Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, was in Riga and recalled NATO's support to its members in case of aggression. This membership in NATO is precisely what allows small countries like Estonia, Lithuania, or Latvia to express their positions as sovereign countries facing a giant like Putin's Russia.
This is what pushed Sweden and Finland to join NATO, thus realizing de facto Putin's worst nightmare. The other European countries should be inspired by the courage of the Baltic countries, which are clear-sighted about the real threat posed by Putin and do not hesitate to act even though they are on the front line.
Some reading
Vladimir Putin Now Forbids Foreigners to Withdraw From the Banking and Energy Sectors. Nothing exceptional, simply the confirmation that the Russian economy continues its descent into hell.
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Putin’s War in Ukraine Shakes Up the Global Nuclear Order. Humanity is just one miscalculation, one misunderstanding away from nuclear annihilation.
Putin May Bluster, but Western Sanctions Are Working and Dragging Russia to Economic Collapse. The departure of foreign companies cancels almost three decades of foreign investment.