Russian Political Analyst: Probes Into Repeating Crimea in Baltics Came Back Negative for Putin
Russian representatives were in Estonia and Latvia in March probing the possibility of repeating the Crimea events in the two Baltic nations, but did not come back with positive news for the regime, says Moscow political analyst Dmitry Oreshkin.
Oreshkin, who works with the Mercator think tank and is a former member of the Kremlin's human rights council, told Eesti Päevaleht the representatives are close to Russian President Vladimir Putin. He said they met the most pro-Russian parties and politicians in the two countries, but were given little hope of such a line of events happening in Estonia.
After the meetings, top Baltic officials intensified their anti-Russian rhetoric, Oreshkin said, adding that authorities must have known about the missions.
Estonia's Internal Security Service said they are aware of President Putin's goal of destabilizing neighboring countries and they have and will in the future stop such attempts, although the authority did not confirm or deny Oreshkin's words.