ESTONIA'S CHARM OFFENSIVE

US FLAG BLAZER, SWEETS HELP WIN THEM OVER IN CONGRESS

- STORY: ADAM SELLER / NYT

When Estonia's liaison to Congress meets lawmakers, his standard icebreaker line is, "Estonians like to wear their love for America on their sleeve.

It is a fitting introduction for Karl-Gerhard Lille, because he regularly sports an American flag blazer and a matching bow tie as he walks the marbled corridors on Capitol Hill, buttonholing members of Congress and their aides.

The flashy outfit is just one piece of his strategy to put Estonia on the map with people in a position to support his small Baltic country on Russia's border, as the Trump administration turns away from Europe. Armed with a pocketful of Estonian candy and endless fun facts about his nation's close ties to the United States, Mr Lille spends his days on Capitol Hill trying to make new friends for his country.

When Estonia regained full independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, "we made a specific decision that we're not going to be alone again," Mr Lille said. "Meaning we can’t have enough friends, and to me, that means in my line of work here that everybody's a potential friend of ours on Capitol Hill."

Mr Lille's unique approach to trans-Atlantic diplomacy comes at a time when Europe has struggled to court the Trump administration.