Obama arrives in Estonia to reassure Baltic leaders

U.S. President Barack Obama is greeted by Estonia's Minister of Foreign Affairs Urmas Paet, left, and Estonia's Chief of Protocol Toomas Kahur, as he arrives in Tallinn, Estonia, Sept. 3, 2014.

 The president arrived in Estonia's port capital of Tallinn early Wednesday after an overnight flight from Washington. Obama was to hold a news conference with Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves, then hold broader security talks that include the leaders of Latvia and Lithuania.

Obama's daylong trip to Estonia comes ahead of a NATO summit this week at which allies will commit to a more robust response to Russia's incursion in Ukraine. Moscow's moves have sparked fears among member states on NATO's eastern flank that they could be Russian President Vladimir Putin's next target.

White House officials say Obama will reassure the Baltics that the U.S. would come to their defense it they were attacked. Under the NATO charter, an attack on one member is considered an attack on the entire alliance.

During the NATO summit in Wales starting Thursday, the alliance will also agree on a more robust rapid response force that will involve positioning more troops and equipment in the Baltics and elsewhere in Eastern Europe. It's unclear whether the plan will satisfy the concerns of the Baltic nations, who have been pressing NATO for permanent bases in the region.

Even before the Ukraine crisis, relations between the Baltic countries and Russia were chilly. Moscow routinely accuses them of discriminating against their Russian-speaking minorities.

About a third of Estonia's 1.3 million residents have Russian as their mother tongue. Many of them feel detached from Estonian society and get their news from Kremlin-controlled Russian TV stations.

The Baltics were invaded by the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany during World War II. After the Soviet Union crumbled, the Baltic countries turned to the West and joined the European Union and NATO in 2004, much to the chagrin of Russia.

Obama will depart Tallinn late Wednesday for Wales, which is hosting the two-day NATO summit.