Disinfo: Estonian authorities pursue Sputnik under the cover of the EU and NATO

Summary

The Estonians would never have decided on such illegal actions if they didn’t have permission from their real owners in the West. Without the coordination with NATO allies, the USA, this situation would not have developed in such a shameful way. Moreover, representatives of NATO and the EU will cover up the actions of the Estonian authorities.

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation undermining the statehood of the Baltic countries, about the US or EU/NATO's hegemony over other countries, lost sovereignty andexternal control of the Baltic states. Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia are sovereign countries, who determine their own domestic and foreign policies, including membership in military and other alliances. The claims are groundless, NATO, the US or the EU have nothing to do with the situation involving Sputnik Estonia. There is no persecution of Sputnik Estonia. Estonia is indeed on the 11th place of Reporters without Borders Press freedom index. It's important to note that Estonia has not blocked Sputnik Estonia's website, as it is accessible and operational. The Minister of Foreign Affairs Urmas Reinsalu has emphasized that Estonia has not taken any measures against the portal's media content: "They are financial sanctions aimed at economic activity. I believe it to be justified. We have notified the European Commission's Legal Service. European agencies have said in the Commission that steps taken by Estonia in exercising sanctions policy are warranted." The agency has been forced to move out of its office in Tallinn because of its inability to pay its rent due to sanctions. In October 2019, Estonian based branches of the foreign banks that operated the accounts of Russia Today, froze all its transfers, while other banks in Estonia refused to operate with Sputnik. This is the result of the sanctions imposed by the European Union on Dmitry Kiselyov, the Director-General of RT, following the outbreak of the crisis in Ukraine. See earlier disinformation cases alleging that Estonia and Lithuania are totalitarian, that Russian media is facing discrimination in the Baltic states, and that Baltic states’ policies are equal to the Third Reich. More cases alleging an aggressive campaign by Estonia against Sputnik can be read here.

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ru.armeniasputnik.am (Archived)
  • Reported in: Issue 178
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 19/12/2019
  • Outlet language(s) Russian
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: US, Estonia
  • Keywords: West, Sputnik, Sanctions, NATO
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Disinfo: NATO prepares for a great conflict

NATO’s military exercises in the Baltic countries, Poland, in the Black Sea and Baltic Sea indicate that it is preparing for a large-scale conflict. Also, NATO promotes theories about the “Russian military threat”, interpreting any Russian security process or any planned transparent military construction event as a threat to peace.

Dec 18, 2019
Disproof

This claim involves speculation without any evidence. Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about NATO's belligerence towards Russia, portraying the Alliance as a threat to peace. NATO is a defensive alliance, whose purpose is to protect its member states. NATO exercises and military deployments are not directed against Russia – or any other country. Any claims that NATO is preparing an attack on Russia are absurd. In direct response to Russia's use of military force against its neighbours, NATO has deployed four multinational battlegroups to the Baltic States and Poland. These forces are rotational, defensive and proportionate. They cannot compare to the three divisions Russia has established in its Western Military and Southern Military Districts. Before Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea, there were no plans to deploy Allied troops to the eastern part of the Alliance. NATO's aim is to prevent conflict, protect its Allies, and preserve the peace.

Disinfo: US is supporting and moving ISIS to Afghanistan

There is ample evidence of America’s involvement in supporting ISIS and the transfer of its forces to Afghanistan. The latest statistics indicate that there are 2,500 to 4,000 ISIS members in Afghanistan.

Dec 18, 2019
Disproof

No evidence is provided to support the claim. Recurrent pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the US supporting ISIS; examples can be found here and here. This message is part of a broader conspiracy theory alleging that the United States has established many terrorist organizations and controls global terrorism.

Both Russia and Iran are interested in portraying jihadist groups such as ISIS/Daesh as supported by the US. In reality, the US and NATO forces have been fighting ISIS, not helping them.

Disinfo: NATO is preparing for a big war, probably with Russia

NATO is getting ready for a war on a big scale. The deployment of the US anti-missile system in Europe and the scripts of the military exercises in the Baltic countries and Poland and in the Black and Baltic Seas show that the Atlantic Alliance is preparing for a long-reaching armed conflict.

Dec 18, 2019
Disproof

This is part of a recurrent Russian narrative aiming to portray NATO as an aggressive organisation, a US puppet and a tool of Washington’s imperial ambitions with no real substance nor justification to exist. NATO is a mutual defence alliance of democratic states aiming to guarantee the freedom and security of its members through political and military means. It has no interest in starting an armed conflict for no apparent reason. The aforementioned military exercises actually aim to test procedures and tactics, develop best practices and identify areas for improvement. Exercises are designed to ensure that NATO forces are trained, able to operate together and ready to respond to any threat from any direction. Read other examples of disinformation against the Atlantic Alliance and its obsolescence, cannibalistic character and fascistic tendencies, claiming that NATO's anti-Russian stance is the only unifying force among its members, and describing its links to white supremacist ideology or the massive casualties of its bombing campaign against Serbia.