Editorial: President Obama's visit to Estonia is beyond symbolic

The Estonian newspaper Eesti Päevaleht argues in its editorial today that Barack Obama’s visit to Estonia is more important than a mere symbolic act.

The visit proves that the US is taking the security concerns in the Baltics seriously, the paper writes.

Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian leaders will have a chance to put forward their concerns and proposals, ahead of the NATO summit in Wales that starts on Thursday.

Estonia can use the visit to convince Obama about the need to revoke the old NATO-Russia pact, according to which the treaty organisation will not set up military bases near Russia’s border.

The message to Obama should be clear: the security situation in Europe is not the same as in 1997 and Estonia needs a strong reassurance that Russia will be deterred by NATO.