Contents tagged with Estonia

  • Russia expels seven Slovak, Lithuanian and Estonian diplomats

    Russia expels a total of seven diplomats from Slovakia and the Baltic States. The Russian Foreign Ministry said that three employees of the Slovak Embassy in Moscow, two employees of the Lithuanian Embassy and one each from the embassies of Latvia and Estonia were declared persona non grata.

    The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned the ambassadors of these countries. They were given "letters of protest in connection with provocative, unreasonable decisions" to expel employees of Russian …

  • Russia expels Estonian diplomat in tit-for-tat

    Estonian authorities expelled a Russian diplomat from the country, announced at a briefing the spokesperson of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova.

    "The newly sworn-in Government of Estonia may have decided to show loyalty to Washington and Brussels in this way. The Russian Embassy diplomat in Tallinn was announced persona non grata without any justification. He was responsible for culture, education, that is, just those areas where cooperation still remains," she said.

    "The Russian …

  • Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania declare Lukashenko persona non grata

    Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs has added Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and 29 other high-ranking officials of Belarus to the list of people who are banned from entering the country. The foreign ministries of Estonia and Lithuania made the same decisions.

    The statement published on the website of the Latvian Foreign Ministry named the reasons for the sanctions and listed the names of the Belarusian officials.

    " Persons on this list are not permitted to travel to Latvia …

  • Estonian Defense Minister calls on military to be ready to counter threat from Russia

    In an address to new recruits, Estonian Defense Minister Juri Luik urged soldiers to learn how to counter the Russian threat and closely monitor the Kremlin's actions in the post-Soviet space.

    "Every trained Estonian soldier is another soldier with whom our enemy should reckon with," the Estonian Defense Minister said.

    Luik recalled that, over six years, 13,000 Ukrainians have become victims of Russian aggression. Russia captured the territories of several states: "We do not need to look far …

  • Estonia to conduct largest arms purchase in its history

    Estonia is preparing to carry out the largest purchase of military equipment in its history. According to Delfi, Estonia intends to purchase Patria 6x6 armored personnel carriers.

    According to the Estonian Center for Defense Investment, more than 100 new vehicles will be purchased in the next 10 years, and perhaps more than 300 in two decades.

    Over the past 15 years, 100 Patria Pasi XA-180 and the XA-188 armored personnel vehicles have been in use with the Estonian Army. They will reach the …

  • Estonia gives 2,000 Makarov pistols to Ukrainian Armed Forces

    Estonia gave 2,400 Makarov pistols, which were previously in service with the Estonian army, to Ukrainian servicemen, reported the Estonian Defense Ministry.

    The press service of the Estonian Defense Ministry noted that the batch of pistols was given to the Ukrainain Army in order to support Ukraine's defense capability.

    Estonian Defense Minister Jüri Luik called “the Russian aggression, which continues in Crimea and the Donbas, unacceptable”. "With this shipment we are supporting our close …

  • Estonia accuses Russian ambassador of violating social distancing rules

    Estonian police officers carefully examined photos taken by the media on April 30, when a delegation of the Russian Embassy opened a renovated monument "Bronze Soldier" at the Military Cemetery in Tallinn, err.ee writes.

    After examining these photographs, Estonian police concluded that the Russian embassy officials " violated the social distancing rules established by the Estonian authorities during the state of emergency".

    Police officials of Põhja Prefecture drew attention that "the …

  • Estonian foreign minister accuses Russia of falsifying history

    Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu has accused Russia of falsifying history, ERR reports. Speaking in Tartu at an event commemorating the Treaty of Tartu, Reinsalu said the treaty is valid due to the principle of legal succession.

    “The falsification of history by Russia, which denies the annexation of Estonia, implies justification of the sphere of influence policy and violence policy of totalitarian regimes, and the Estonian Republic condemns this,” the minister said.

    In 1920, Soviet …

  • Estonian president declines Russian birthday gift – a bottle of Crimean wine

    Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid did not accept a bottle of Crimean sparkling wine which was sent by the Russian Embassy for her birthday, reported the Estonian news outlet Eesti Ekspress.

    "The Russian Embassy expressed birthday wishes to the President on her 50th birthday and sent her flowers, chocolate and a bottle of Crimean sparkling wine. The wine was sent back [to the Russian Embassy] by the office of the president," Eesti Ekspress writes.

    The Estonian President celebrated her …

  • Estonia will not ratify border treaty with Russia

    The ruling coalition in Estonia does not intend to ratify the 2014 state border treaty with Russia, Estonian parliament president Henn Põlluaas told ERR in an interview.

    “The coalition’s position is that we will not proceed with the ratification of the border treaty,” he said.

    According to him, Estonia will not ratify the treaty even if Russia ratifies it first.

    “Nothing needs to be done. We certainly don’t need to ratify it. If we signed a new border treaty and surrendered those territories …