Friday, June 26, 2015
The Estonian city that loves Putin By Neal Razzell BBC World Service
Estonia is one of the countries in Eastern Europe where US tanks,
artillery and other military equipment will soon start arriving, Defense
Secretary Ash Carter said on Tuesday in the Estonian capital, Tallinn.
But there is one community in Estonia that may have mixed feelings about
these new US deployments.
Nato
has a Russian city. It's called Narva and its main feature is a 12th
Century castle overlooking the Narva River. Climb to the top and you can
peer down on its ancient nemesis - the fortress of Ivangorod that
sprawls along the opposite bank. This spot has long been a place of
conflict between east and west. Today, Ivangorod and its fortress are in
Russia. Narva and its castle are in Estonia, which means they're in the
EU and Nato.
But Narva's people are almost entirely - and often resolutely - Russian.
But Narva's people are almost entirely - and often resolutely - Russian.
Tsipras in intensive talks with creditors
Greek PM Alexis Tsipras has held intense talks with international creditors in efforts to find a solution to Greece's debt crisis.
Mr Tsipras has criticised lenders for rejecting his latest reform proposals, which they say are not viable.
Late night talks with the European Commission, the European Central
Bank (ECB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) ended without
agreement.
Greece must pay the IMF €1.6bn (£1.1bn) within days or face default.
Talks in Brussels between Mr Tsipras and Greece's creditors are expected to resume at 09:00 (07:00 GMT) ahead of a Eurogroup meeting of eurozone finance ministers scheduled for 13:00 (11:00 GMT).
They hope to cut a deal that would release further loans to Greece before it runs out of money.
On Wednesday, finance ministers cut short a meeting that had been meant to finalise a deal.
Mr Tsipras held several hours of talks but officials said there was little sign of a breakthrough, with differences over whether the reform plan should have an emphasis on tax rises or pension and spending cuts.
The negotiations reconvened in the evening but again ended without a deal.
Greece must pay the IMF €1.6bn (£1.1bn) within days or face default.
Talks in Brussels between Mr Tsipras and Greece's creditors are expected to resume at 09:00 (07:00 GMT) ahead of a Eurogroup meeting of eurozone finance ministers scheduled for 13:00 (11:00 GMT).
They hope to cut a deal that would release further loans to Greece before it runs out of money.
On Wednesday, finance ministers cut short a meeting that had been meant to finalise a deal.
Mr Tsipras held several hours of talks but officials said there was little sign of a breakthrough, with differences over whether the reform plan should have an emphasis on tax rises or pension and spending cuts.
The negotiations reconvened in the evening but again ended without a deal.
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