DISINFO: Estonia should not interfere in affairs of other countries
SUMMARY
It is obvious that for Estonia, as a state, it would be much more useful to adhere to a more moderate line, without interfering in the affairs of other countries [as in the case of poisoning Alexei Navalny], since this brings nothing but problems for its inhabitants.
But since it is difficult to call Estonia’s foreign policy independent, one can only hope that the excessive zeal of local politicians will not become too destructive.
RESPONSE
The misleading narrative claims 1) that Estonia is interfering in the internal affairs of other counrties, 2) that sanctioning Russia for poisoning Alexei Navalny “brings nothing but problems” and 3) questions Estonia’s foreign policy independency.
The EUvsDisinfo database features numerous examples where Western countries are accused in interfering, for example the United States is allegedly interfering in Belarus, and Polish special services intervened in Ukraine. However, according to the pro-Kremlin media, the opposite is claimed to be true for Russia, as it never meddles in internal affairs of other countries. In reality, the interference of Russia in internal affairs for example of ex-soviet countries is a long tradition that sometimes even ended in frozen armed conflicts.
The question of who is independent and who is under the control of whom is a recurring topic. According to pro-Kremlin media, Russia is independent, but most of the other countries are not. Examples include: Ukrainian government is under the control of US (although Ukraine, Armenia and Azerbaijan have never been independent anyway), and Washington also controls Poland and Lithuania.