Pence reassures Baltic states, draws firm line against Moscow aggression

Vice President Mike Pence assured U.S. commitment to the Baltic states in the face of Russian aggression on Sunday in Tallinn, Estonia, The Washington Post reports. While President Trump has been unclear in the past about where he draws the line with Russia, Pence confirmed that Moscow's "destabilizing activities, its support for rogue regimes, its activities in Ukraine, are unacceptable."

Pence will also visit Georgia and Montenegro on his four-day tour, and along with Estonia, "all three countries have struggled for years with Russian aggression," the Post writes. "In 2007, Estonia faced a cyberattack that hobbled dozens of corporate and government websites — an attack for which it blames Russia, though the Kremlin denies the charge. In 2008, Russia invaded Georgia, and Montenegro has accused Russian agents of an attempted coup in 2016, aimed at preventing the nation from joining NATO."

Pence's comments followed Trump's decision to sign a Russian sanctions bill, and Russia's retaliatory expulsion of 755 American diplomats. "While our policy is America first, it's not America alone," Pence said, "and … our allies in Eastern Europe can be confident that the United States of America stands with them."

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