WASHINGTON — Amid new concerns about vicious Sunni extremists in the Middle East, President Obama departs Tuesday on a four-day trip to Europe to address another crisis - Russia’s aggression in Eastern Europe.
Obama will stop first in Russia’s backyard of Estonia, where he will meet with the leaders of the three Baltic nations that belong to NATO.
The three nations — Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania -- are all anxious about Russia’s aggression following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
To the Baltic leaders, Russia’s incursion has underscored why they joined NATO in the first place. They want NATO to take a more high-profile role in their defense.
“Part of the reason I'll be going to Estonia is to let the Estonians know that we mean what we say with respect to our treaty obligations," Obama said last week.
Obama was scheduled to depart Tuesday hours after the rampaging Sunni extremist group ISIS released a video purportedly showing the beheading of a second American journalist, Joel Sotloff.
The video was likely to intensify calls by American lawmakers for Obama to take a more aggressive stand toward the bloodthirsty extremists.
After his visit Wednesday to the Estonian capital of Tallinn, Obama meets Thursday with NATO leaders in Wales.
The Ukrainian crisis tops the agenda for that meeting. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko is expected to attend, despite Ukraine's lack of membership in NATO.
The talks follow the European Union ultimatum that Russia withdraw from Ukraine or face new economic sanctions. The U.S. is also considering new sanctions against Moscow.
Source: Top Stories - Google News - http://ift.tt/1qmoUb3
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