Russia shouldn't threaten Baltics 's US diplomat

A senior U.S. diplomat has issued a blunt warning to Russia not to threaten the Baltics with attacks and sanctions, but to discuss differences in a "civilized" way.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried said Baltic countries would "never be left alone again" when faced with "old, new or virtual threats," a reference to the recent 'cyber attacks' against Estonian Web sites.
Fried, head of European and Eurasian affairs in the State Department, made the comments at a forum in Washington to mark the 85th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the U.S.A. and the Baltic nations on June 15, the AFP news agency reported. (See text page 15.)
"There are deep and difficult issues in Russia's relations with the Baltic states and some of them are rooted in different views of history," Fried said.

"But these differences should be discussed in an honest and civilized way. Threats, attacks, sanctions should have no place."
Fried said Russia had nothing to fear from the development of peaceful democratic states on its borders.
"Their democratic ideals and their democratic success is not a threat to anyone least of all their great neighbor Russia," Fried said.
"Doesn't Russian history suggest that threats from the West do not come from democracies but from dictatorships and nationalistic dictatorships?" Fried asked.
He also called upon Russia to drop suspicions about the European Union, which embraced almost all former members of so-called Warsaw pact.

"The European Union is many things, but a threatening, rapidly nationalistic superstate it is not," he said.
"And although I admire the progress of the Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian militaries, I do not think we will soon see the Lithuanian cavalry galloping through Smolensk heading east," he said of the once Lithuanian-held western Russian city.
Fried said he hoped that in 15 years, when the United States and the Baltic states will mark their 100th anniversary of ties, there would be "a united Europe working with Russia in common purpose as much as we can."

Russia has constantly accused Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania with violating Russian minority rights, while the Baltic countries blame Russia for exerting economic pressure and interfering in their domestic affairs.
Most recently, Estonia accused Russia of launching a wave of attacks against its computer systems as part of a campaign of unofficial sanctions following the row over the removal of a Soviet war memorial from Tallinn's center in late April.
Lithuania has also felt the brunt of Moscow's pressure, with oil supply to the Mazeikiu Nafta refinery being terminated. While Russia said the supply was stopped due to pipeline problems, Lithuanian politicians saw it as revenge for selling the refinery to a Polish company rather than a Russian one.