WASHINGTON — Estonia’s defense minister was in Washington Monday discussing with the United States why NATO needs plans in case his region is attacked.

Jaak Aaviksoo told The Associated Press that his country sees new threats since Russia’s invasion of Georgia last year and a cyber attack that targeted his country in 2007.

“We see certain developments that don’t make us happy,” he said. “Post-Georgia is different from pre-Georgia, and we need to take that into account.”

Aaviksoo added that Estonia does not believe that the issue is urgently needed to address any imminent threats.

Aaviksoo plans to meet with U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates Tuesday. He said that Estonia would like to NATO to look at defense plans that would consider not only conventional military attacks, but also other threats such as terrorism and cyber warfare.

Since the last year’s Russia-Georgia war, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia, NATO members that were once part of the Soviet Union, have pressed for a greater U.S. and NATO presence on their territory. The countries now want NATO to specifically address the threats they perceive from their Eastern borders.

But the move to plan for Russian aggression comes as the United States and NATO are seeking greater cooperation with Russia.

Aaviksoo said that he also expected to discuss Estonia’s military contribution to NATO’s Afghanistan operation with Gates.