Estonians Refute President's 'Irresponsible' Statements, Threat Hype

Military and political figures disagreed with the Estonian president's claims that the country is at risk of imminent military occupation by Russia.

Estonian security experts and politicians struck back against President Toomas Hendrik Ilves' recent claims that Estonia is in danger of Russian invasion.

In a Saturday interview with the Telegraph, Ilves claimed that Estonia could be occupied by Russia within four hours. The claims were part of a desire to have a permanent NATO rapid response force in the Baltic states. Such an arrangement would violate the 1998 NATO-Russia founding act which prohibits permanently stationing combat troops east of Germany.

"Any thinking person understands that the president doesn't actually think this," a member of the Council of Elders of the Estonian Defense League paramilitary organization Aivar Riisalu told Estonian government television ETV on Tuesday.

Estonian European Parliament member Indrek Tarand told Estonian radio that Ilves' recent statements, including those on Russia and a Finnish newspaper's contest for nickname for Estonians, are irresponsible.

"I would like to know the opinion of one of the generals. What have we been doing for 11 years, allocating two percent of GDP to defense?"

According to Tarand, President Ilves' Twitter is out of control because of the recent change of government following the February parliamentary elections.

"I hope that new Director of the Office of the President Alo Heinsalu will now take the situation under control," Tarand said.

Paranoia over Russian influence has also hit nearby Lithuania, where the government banned the Russian television channel RTR-Planeta on Monday over statements made by politician Vladimir Zhirinovsky on a debate show.