Vice President Pence arrived in Estonia on Sunday to showcase support for NATO allies in the Baltic region and eastern Europe amid increasing concerns about Russia's influence in the region. <\/p>\n
On behalf of @POTUS, arrived in Tallinn, Estonia with @SecondLady to meet w\/ leaders of Baltic States on security & prosperity #VPinEurope pic.twitter.com\/YmKsiBQyvK <\/p>\n
The vice president will meet with Estonian Prime MinisterJri Ratas to discuss potentially installing an American anti-aircraft defense systems in the small Baltic country, which is made up of just 1.3 million people. <\/p>\n
Earlier this month the U.S. deployed a battery of long-range anti-aircraft missiles in Lithuania. <\/p>\n
Pence's visit comes after Russia spooked NATO allies when it sent 2,500 troops to the Latvian and Estonian borders earlier this month as a part of a military drill in the Pskov region. <\/p>\n
The visit also precedes Russias highly anticipated Zapad 2017 exercise along with Belarus, which NATO officials expect could bring up to 100,000 troops to Baltic borders. <\/p>\n
Belarus has reportedly invited Estonia to watch the military exercise. <\/p>\n
Estonia, which is made up of 300,000 ethnic Russians, is seen as a future target of Russian aggression, considering it was invaded by the Soviet Union during World War Two. It became a NATO member in 2004. <\/p>\n
The vice president is also set to make stops in Montenegro, which became a NATO member this year, and Georgia, which has long aspired to join the alliance. <\/p>\n
Russia has attempted to counter NATO by increasing its sphere of influence in eastern Europe over the past decade. <\/p>\n
Russia invaded Georgia in August of 2008, and annexed Crimea in 2014, which has a sizable ethnic Russian population. The move led to abloody conflict between Ukraine and Russian-backed separatists in the country's eastern region. <\/p>\n
Montengro accused the Kremlin of being involved toassassinate the country's prime minister in October of 2016 in order to prevent Montenegro from joining NATO. <\/p>\n
The Trump administration has maintained a perplexing- sometimes tense andsometimes, according to critics, too friendly -relationship with Russia. <\/p>\n
The White House is currently grappling with the ongoing federal probe into alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin. <\/p>\n
However, the White House announced on Friday the president would sign legislation implementing new sanctions on Russia, despite its efforts to water down the sanctions. <\/p>\n
Russia has pledged to retaliate against the move by ordering the U.S. to reduce the number is diplomats in Moscow. <\/p>\n
Pence's visit could also serve as a reassurance to NATO, given Trump's past critical rhetoric toward the alliance. <\/p>\n
The presidenthas maintained a rocky relationship with NATO, often saying the alliance's member nations do not pay their fair share. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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\nPence looks to reassure NATO Baltic allies amid Russia tensions - The Hill<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"