As Air Force One landed in Estonia's capital Wednesday, President Barack Obama's message to Vladimir Putin -- only 500 miles away in Moscow -- was clear: Stay put.
Obama's trip to the former Soviet state, ahead of this week's NATO summit in Wales, is meant to reassure nervous Eastern Europe that Putin's support for separatists in Ukraine doesn't mean he has a free pass for territorial gains elsewhere, reports GHN based on CNN.
In a speech in Tallinn, Obama said the vision of a Europe dedicated to peace and freedom is "threatened by Russia's aggression against Ukraine," but said NATO will not allow that aggression to go unchecked.
"We will defend our NATO allies, and that means every ally," he said. "We will be here for Estonia. ... You lost your independence once before. With NATO, you will never lose it again."
Critics hammer Obama over ISIS threat
Added to the schedule only last month, the stop in Estonia supplements the message coming from NATO leaders gathering in Cardiff, Wales, who are set to announce the positioning of troops and equipment closer to Russia in Eastern Europe.
In earlier comments alongside Estonia's President, Obama recalled the "deep ties" between the two nations as he announced plans for additional U.S. Air Force units to be based in Estonia as part of a bolstering of NATO forces in the region.
"One of our goals at the summit over the next several days is to once again project unity across NATO on behalf of Ukraine's efforts to maintain its sovereignty and territorial integrity," Obama said.
He added that Russia was "paying a heavy price for its actions," in part through Western sanctions imposed over Ukraine, and that NATO is poised to do more to help Ukraine defend itself.
He said more European NATO members need to spend a full 2% of their gross domestic product on defense to keep NATO strong.
The approaching NATO summit is an opportunity for these countries to pledge this, he said.
"Estonia does it. Every ally must do it," he said