Monitoring Desk
ISTANBUL: Russia on Monday announced that it has lowered its relations with Estonia to the level of charge d’affaires, in response to its decision to reduce the Russian embassy’s size in Tallinn.
The Foreign Ministry of Russia said in a statement that in recent years, the Estonian leaders destroyed the entire range of ties with Russia. Total Russophobia and the hostile cultivation towards it have been elevated by Estonia to the rank of state policy.
Estonia’s step leads relations toward collapse
It said the recent step of Estonia to reduce the size of the Russian embassy in Tallinn confirmed the line towards the collapse of relations between the two countries. As a response, Russia decided to downgrade the diplomatic level in both countries to charge d’affaires.
The statement further said that the Estonian ambassador to Russia Margus Laidre was summoned to the Foreign Ministry where he faced a strong protest in connection with the Estonian authorities’ actions. He was asked to leave the country by 7 February. It added that all responsibility for a situation in bilateral ties lies entirely with the Estonian side.
