viktorzar
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On August, 23 the president of Germany visited the capital of Estonia where he gave a speech in celebration of the 78th anniversary of Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact signing. The diplomat failed to amaze anybody, but managed to keep in tune with the Baltic political trends.
Bearing in mind the Baltic reality, the president’s speech was a music to local politicians’ ears. Everything the Estonian establishment wants to hear every day was said. But what do Steinmeier’s words promise to a Russian-speaking citizen of Estonia? Let’s analyze the points of the address.
Russia opposes itself to the West
“We are also seeing how the Russian leadership is very deliberately shaping its country’s self-image by defining it as different, indeed opposed, to us in the West”, highlighted the FRG leader.
The phrase seems to be harmless as Steinmeier doesn’t accuse Russia of anything, just states a fact. The emotional coloring of the idea is brought by the venue. Tallinn. Estonia. Ethnical Russians are the third of the population.
The president of the European locomotive is sort of saying to local governments that Germany is aware of the danger that poses biculturalism of the Republic and is ready to support any action of the government aimed at resolving this problem.
The situation may get even worse if nationalists win power in Tallinn where the Russian-speaking population equals more than 30%. In case right-wingers achieve success they will assimilate Russians with Estonians more persistently. It will be approved not only by the government, but also by the leader of the EU (in the form of political dividends, of course).
Backing of Estonia in the NATO
The head of Germany promised full backing in terms of the national security guarantee to the Republic of Estonia. “Your security is our security”, he said.
This wording is essential for European politicians. No European politician’s speech can do without it like no morning can do without coffee. Nevertheless Steinmeier’s utterance can be of practical, not only ideological use.
Within the framework of the visit of the Baltic leaders to Washington the president of Latvia articulated the republics’ desire to refer to the 3rd Article of the NATO Charter, though earlier they appealed to the 5th one. The 3rd Article says that member states are to develop their own military potential. Estonia has some trouble with that: the local army has no heavy weapons.
The readiness of Berlin “to guarantee national security of Estonia” may imply establishment of a contract of arming between the two countries in the future.
Germany, as well as Sweden and Norway, is a major supplier of heavy weapon to the EU countries. According to the Sipri Institute data, the share of the FRG military export in this region comes up to 37%. Main products are Leopard 2 tanks and self-propelled artillery platforms PzH 2000.
Tallinn is ready to accept its ally’s assistance. In 2014 the ex-Commander of the Defence Forces Ants Laaneots spoke about the increasing need of the army in tanks. At that time his words only met verbal support from the IRL party. Today these words may become actions, taking into account common Baltic tendencies to increase their combat might.
An ordinary Estonian citizen will hardly benefit from a scenario like this. To purchase and to maintain tanks is not cheap. A German Leopard 2 costs around 1,5 billion dollars. High military expenses of Estonia already hamper social wellbeing of the population. Another spending pattern may exacerbate the situation.
Bearing in mind the Baltic reality, the president’s speech was a music to local politicians’ ears. Everything the Estonian establishment wants to hear every day was said. But what do Steinmeier’s words promise to a Russian-speaking citizen of Estonia? Let’s analyze the points of the address.
Russia opposes itself to the West
“We are also seeing how the Russian leadership is very deliberately shaping its country’s self-image by defining it as different, indeed opposed, to us in the West”, highlighted the FRG leader.
The phrase seems to be harmless as Steinmeier doesn’t accuse Russia of anything, just states a fact. The emotional coloring of the idea is brought by the venue. Tallinn. Estonia. Ethnical Russians are the third of the population.
The president of the European locomotive is sort of saying to local governments that Germany is aware of the danger that poses biculturalism of the Republic and is ready to support any action of the government aimed at resolving this problem.
The situation may get even worse if nationalists win power in Tallinn where the Russian-speaking population equals more than 30%. In case right-wingers achieve success they will assimilate Russians with Estonians more persistently. It will be approved not only by the government, but also by the leader of the EU (in the form of political dividends, of course).
Backing of Estonia in the NATO
The head of Germany promised full backing in terms of the national security guarantee to the Republic of Estonia. “Your security is our security”, he said.
This wording is essential for European politicians. No European politician’s speech can do without it like no morning can do without coffee. Nevertheless Steinmeier’s utterance can be of practical, not only ideological use.
Within the framework of the visit of the Baltic leaders to Washington the president of Latvia articulated the republics’ desire to refer to the 3rd Article of the NATO Charter, though earlier they appealed to the 5th one. The 3rd Article says that member states are to develop their own military potential. Estonia has some trouble with that: the local army has no heavy weapons.
The readiness of Berlin “to guarantee national security of Estonia” may imply establishment of a contract of arming between the two countries in the future.
Germany, as well as Sweden and Norway, is a major supplier of heavy weapon to the EU countries. According to the Sipri Institute data, the share of the FRG military export in this region comes up to 37%. Main products are Leopard 2 tanks and self-propelled artillery platforms PzH 2000.
Tallinn is ready to accept its ally’s assistance. In 2014 the ex-Commander of the Defence Forces Ants Laaneots spoke about the increasing need of the army in tanks. At that time his words only met verbal support from the IRL party. Today these words may become actions, taking into account common Baltic tendencies to increase their combat might.
An ordinary Estonian citizen will hardly benefit from a scenario like this. To purchase and to maintain tanks is not cheap. A German Leopard 2 costs around 1,5 billion dollars. High military expenses of Estonia already hamper social wellbeing of the population. Another spending pattern may exacerbate the situation.
