This month, 1,000 people chose to support the Kyiv Independent. Can we count on you, too?
Become a member
Skip to content
Edit post

Russia, Estonia expel each other’s ambassadors due to ‘destroyed relations’

by The Kyiv Independent news desk January 23, 2023 2:39 PM 2 min read
Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs Urmas Reinsalu talks to media prior to an EU foreign affairs ministers meeting in the EU Council headquarters on Jan. 23, 2023, in Brussels, Belgium. (Photo by Thierry Monasse/Getty Images)
This audio is created with AI assistance

Russia has summoned Estonian Ambassador Margus Laidre, ordering him to leave the country by Feb. 7, followed by Estonia making the same move under "the principle of parity," the Associated Press reported, citing the countries' foreign ministries.

According to the AP, the diplomatic missions in Russia and Estonia will be headed by temporary charges d'affaires, namely subordinate diplomats substituting for absent ambassadors.

Russian Foreign Ministry wrote in its statement that the ambassador's expulsion was a response to Estonia's "new unfriendly step to radically reduce the size of the Russian Embassy in Tallinn." Russian officials added that "the Estonian leadership has purposefully destroyed the entire range of relations with Russia."

Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics announced on Jan. 23 that his country would also downgrade diplomatic relations with Russia "in solidarity with Estonia." He added that Latvia is "demanding Russia to act accordingly."

Earlier in January, Estonia decided to cut down the number of employees at the Russian embassy in Tallinn. From Feb. 1, only eight diplomats and 15 administrative, technical, and service staff members will be able to work in the country.

Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu said, cited by the AP, that his country had reduced its bilateral relations with Moscow "to the absolute minimum" since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine started on Feb. 24.

On Jan. 19, the Estonian government announced it would provide Ukraine with a record military aid package worth 113 million euros, increasing its total military assistance to 370 million euros which is more than 1% of Estonian GDP.

The package will include all the 155 mm howitzers Estonia has, Ukraine's General Staff reported, citing Estonian Ambassador Kaimo Kuusk.

Estonia has been one of Ukraine's biggest supporters since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion. The Estonian parliament condemned Russia's illegal annexation of Ukrainian territories and voted to declare Russia "a terrorist regime" on Oct. 18.

Estonia’s ex-President Kaljulaid: Bringing Ukraine closer to EU can set example for Russia
Let’s see how far we can go?
We’ve been amazed by your support. We’ve reached our initial goal of finding 1,000 new paying members. We still have till the end of our birthday campaign — with more support, we can do even more good journalism. Over 13,000 people are standing behind us. Can we count on you, too?
Show us support this birthday month
Become a member
visa masterCard americanExpress

News Feed

1:50 PM  (Updated: )

Reuters reports Assad may have died in plane crash, later removes report.

Reuters on Dec. 8 reported, citing its Syrian sources that "there was a very high probability that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad may have been killed in a plane crash" as he was fleeing Damascus following its capture by rebels. Reuters later deleted the information from its reporting.
11:50 PM

US announces $988 million military aid package for Ukraine.

The latest aid package will be pulled through the remaining $2 billion in funding from the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) — a Pentagon-led program for supplying arms to Ukraine through contracts with U.S. defense companies.
MORE NEWS

Editors' Picks

Enter your email to subscribe
Please, enter correct email address
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required

Subscribe

* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Explaining Ukraine with Kate Tsurkan
* indicates required
Successfuly subscribed
Thank you for signing up for this newsletter. We’ve sent you a confirmation email.