US Senator McCain to Visit Estonia
US Senator John McCain will come to Estonia on Monday, according to ETV.
McCain's meetings with Estonian leaders will focus on Ukraine and NATO preparedness. A member of the Senate's Foreign Relations Committee, McCain has previously visited Estonia in 1993 and 2001.
He was the Republican candidate for president in 2008, losing to Barack Obama. McCain lost a heated primary contest to George W. Bush for the nomination in 2000.
McCain clashed with US Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday after McCain characterized the Obama administration as “failing very badly” in its handling of Russia and other world problems.
According to NBCNews.com, McCain lashed out at Kerry at a Senate hearing for only imposing limited sanctions against Russia and for suspending Russia, not kicking it out, from the G-8 group of international powers.
“My hero Teddy Roosevelt used to say talk softly and carry a big stick,” he said. “What you’re doing is talking strongly and carrying a very small sick. In fact, a twig.”
McCain also attacked the Obama administration for not giving Ukraine weapons to defend itself against Russia. He called it “the logic of appeasement.”
McCain advocated for sending arms to Ukraine on Fox News on Tuesday (watch the video here) as a boost to help their fighting spirit.
McCain acknowledged the arms would not likely enable Ukraine to defeat the Russians in an open war, but emphasized it could improve the Ukrainian military’s morale.
"If [the Ukrainians] want to fight, shouldn't we give them something to fight with?" McCain said.
McCain was elected to the US House of Representatives in 1982, and served two terms. He was then elected to the US Senate in 1986, and has won re-election four times, the last coming in 2010.