Estonia: Split Opinions About Nord Stream

Estonian Defense Minister Urmas Reinsalu sent a letter to Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet on Oct. 23 urging the government to refuse to allow the third and fourth lines of the Nord Stream natural gas pipeline project to run through Estonia's Exclusive Economic Zone. Reinsalu's letter comes just a month after the Russo-German project requested permission to perform studies on Estonia's seabed. Estonia rejected a similar request in 2007 for environmental and safety reasons and on the grounds that hosting a strategic Russian asset could create a security threat for the Baltic country.

Russia has tried to demonstrate to Estonia that Moscow will not use Nord Stream as a political tool, but the Baltic state appears to have misgivings about Moscow's intentions. Although Estonia's business community sees the pipeline as a business opportunity, the intelligence and military factions in the government still have security concerns. However, should the idea of expanding Nord Stream through Estonia gain momentum within the consortium, Moscow and Berlin could still get Tallinn to the negotiating table.