Vice President Mike Pence to Travel to Estonia, Georgia, and Montenegro
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence arrived Sunday in Estonia for meetings with the presidents of three Baltic nations in northeastern Europe, the first stop of a four-day European tour.
Pence met Estonian Prime Minister Juri Ratas on Sunday regarding the possibility of installing American anti-aircraft defence systems in the small country of 1.3 million people. They also discussed the current Estonian presidency of the European Union, trade relations, security in cyberspace and tensions in the Baltic region, since both Russia and NATO intensified their military presence there.
Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania are members of NATO and were under Moscow’s rule during the Soviet era.
The three countries and other allies in Eastern Europe have expressed concerns about Russia’s intentions in their respective regions.
Relations between Moscow and Tallinn have been fraught since Estonia broke free from the Soviet Union in 1991, joining both the European Union and NATO in 2004.
The three countries and other allies in Eastern Europe have expressed concerns about Russia’s intentions in their respective regions.
“That is that ‘America First’ does not mean ‘America Alone,'” Pence told Fox News. “Our message to the Baltic countries and my message during the visit Georgia and Montenegro will be the same: to our allies here in Eastern Europe, we are with you.”
On the last stop, Pence will welcome NATO’s newest member- Montenegro, according to a press release issued by the government.
On August 2, he will attend the Adriatic Charter Summit in Montenegro’s capital, Podgorica, hosted by PM Dusko Markovic.
The leaders of Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Serbia, and Slovenia are also scheduled to attend the summit.
It will be the most important international meeting held in Montenegro.
