The Estonian Foreign Ministry has assured Wednesday that it has conveyed to the Russian Embassy in Tallinn the need to decrease the number of diplomatic staff as of February 1 citing parity issues.
As the Estonian Foreign Ministry has detailed in a statement, Russia will have to reduce the staff of the Embassy in Tallinn to eight diplomats and fifteen seconded administrative, technical and service employees.
«In light of the fact that during the war of aggression, the Russian Embassy staff is not engaged in promoting Russian-Estonian relations, we believe that there is no reason to reduce the current size of the Russian Embassy,» the Estonian diplomatic portfolio added.
Likewise, from Tallinn they have stressed that since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine at the end of February, they have reduced «to the absolute minimum» their relations with Moscow, closing in recent months several consulates and expelling at least three diplomatic staff members for «actively undermining Estonia’s security and spreading propaganda justifying Russia’s military action.»
«We are now capping the number of Russian diplomats working in Estonia to achieve parity. Today’s step is in correlation with the low point in our relations in general,» the Estonian Foreign Ministry has zanelled.
For her part, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warned the Estonian authorities that «none of their hostile actions will go unanswered,» a message that is in line with the diplomatic line maintained by Moscow since the outbreak of the war.
«It has long been no secret to us that Estonia is one of the most hostile states to Russia. Russophobia has been elevated here to the rank of official doctrine,» the Russian diplomatic spokeswoman denounced.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
