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Estonian intelligence service says armed conflict between NATO, Russia unlikely

A report says "Russia is unlikely to attack NATO in 2017"

TALLINN, February 8. /TASS/. Estonia’s Information Board, an intelligence service under the country’s Defense Ministry, believes that Russia is unlikely to attack NATO countries, head of the Board Mikk Marran said while presenting a report dubbed "Estonia in the international security environment in 2017."

"We say clearly that Russia is unlikely to attack NATO in 2017. It is not a zero possibility but it is quite low," he noted.

The report is almost completely dedicated to Russia. It particularly says that Russia is the only state capable of threatening Estonia’s independence and territorial integrity. According to Marran, Russia has been carrying out an information campaign against the West which is affecting the Baltic state. "This is not just propaganda but a combination of various methods aimed at raising tensions in society and damaging the credibility of the western countries, including Estonia," the head of the intelligence service said.

In 2016, Estonia’s Information Board published a report for the first time in more than 20 years, assessing challenges the countries had been facing. The report claimed that Russia possibly was "the only power which could threaten Estonia’s constitutional order in the near future.".