U.S.: Clinton's Deliberate Visits on Russia's Doorstep

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will begin a string of official visits June 27. Clinton will visit Finland before moving on to Latvia and then meeting with her Russian counterpart in Moscow. The three-day trip comes a week after Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Barack Obama concluded a tense meeting on the sidelines of a G-20 summit. 

Clinton deliberately chose to visit these countries before traveling to Moscow. Finland's growing dissatisfaction with the European Union and its concurrent rapprochement with Western security alliances present Moscow with both opportunities and challenges regarding its influence in Helsinki. Latvia is an important country for Russia's Baltic strategy; Lithuania and Estonia have worked to weaken Moscow's influence in the region, particularly in the area of energy. Clinton's decision to stop in Latvia and Finland highlights the importance of these countries to Russia and Washington's desire to undermine the Kremlin's strategic imperatives in the region. Moscow will have to provide economic incentives in order to maintain the current balance with Riga and Helsinki as its overall strategic position weakens.