NATO chief to visit Estonia

Tallinn (Estonia), May 5 (IANS) NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen is scheduled to undertake a two-day visit to Estonia to discuss the changing security scenario in Europe, a government statement said here Monday.

The NATO chief will be visiting Estonia May 8-9, Xinhua quoted the Estonian foreign ministry as saying in the statement.

Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet said the NATO chief's visit to Estonia was "very significant," adding, "This is a confirmation of NATO's commitment to ensuring its member states' security and is a sign of the close cooperation between Estonia and our NATO allies."

Rasmussen will meet Paet in Tallinn Thursday and also have meetings scheduled with President Toomas Hendrik Ilves and Prime Minister Taavi Roivas.

On Friday, Rasmussen will give a public lecture at Tallinn University and visit Amari air base outside Tallinn, where 150 US soldiers and 100 British soldiers had arrived within the past week for joint military exercises.