Tension escalated on Monday between Russia and Baltic EU member states Estonia and Latvia after Moscow asked Estonia’s ambassador to leave.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said it had asked the ambassador to Estonia to depart on 7 February, citing “Russophobia” and the lack of Russian embassy staff in the country.
“The Estonian leadership in recent years has been deliberately destroying the whole set of relations with Russia. The cultivation of total Russophobia and hostility towards our country has been raised by Tallinn to the rank of a state policy,” the Russian ministry said in a Statement,
Earlier this month, Estonia told russia Reducing the number of diplomats in Tallinn to eight, to match the number of Estonian diplomats in Moscow. Because of this, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Monday that it would downgrade diplomatic ties with Tallinn and that each country would be represented by an interim charge d’affaires instead of an ambassador.
Estonia responded in kind saying The Russian ambassador in Tallinn will also have to leave the country on 7 February.
“Russia’s move will not prevent us from providing continued support to Ukraine, which has been fighting for almost a year for its sovereignty and the security of all of us,” Foreign Minister Urmas Rinsalu said. “We will continue to support Ukraine as Russia continues to plan large-scale attacks, and we call on other like-minded countries to increase their aid to Ukraine.”
Edgar Rinkevics, later Foreign Minister of neighboring Latvia Told His country will follow Estonia and also downgrade the level of diplomatic relations with Russia effective February 24, “demanding Russia to act accordingly.”
Lithuania’s foreign ministry voiced “full solidarity” with Estonia and said Russia’s “unfounded and unwarranted” move was a “sign of simple desperation”. Vilnius already Expelled Its Russian ambassador in April after reports of atrocities by Russian troops in the Ukrainian city of Bucha.
The diplomatic row came as EU foreign ministers met in brussels To discuss Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, among other topics. The three Baltic countries have been vocal in demanding tougher sanctions for Russia as well as better aid for Ukraine. request Germany will deliver Leopard tanks to Kyiv over the weekend.