Estonia expels Russian Embassy employee over security concerns

LONDON

A Russian Embassy employee in Estonia has been expelled from the country, Foreign Minister Margus Tsakhna said Tuesday and cautioned that the Baltic state is ready to take “additional measures.”

Tsakhna announced that his government decided to summon the Russian Chargé d'Affaires who had been declared persona non grata, a term defined by the Vienna Convention which obliges the recipient to leave the host state or be stripped of diplomatic immunity.

The Foreign Ministry informed the Russian ambassador that Estonia will not accept actions that oppose its independence and sovereignty, according to Tsakhna.

"Coordinated hybrid operations by the Russian special services against the security of the Republic of Estonia must end.

"Estonia will discuss the matter with its partners and allies, and is prepared to implement additional measures where necessary, in order to defend our society and our values,” the ministry said in a statement.

Tsakhna accused the embassy of interfering in the internal matters of Estonia including in “the judicial process acquiring documents from a criminal case and contributing to their publication on Russian social media.”

"We will not tolerate nor accept any interference in Estonia's internal matters and will respond to these kinds of situations in a quick and concrete manner,” Tsakhna warned while adding that by expelling the diplomat, Estonia is demonstrating that it will not allow any actions “orchestrated by a foreign state on its territory.”

The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned Estonian Ambassador Margus Laidre in February 2023 and ordered him to leave in retaliation for Estonia’s “new unfriendly step,” it said.

Following Tallinn’s decision last January to drastically reduce the number of Russian embassy staff and keep it “to the absolute minimum,” Moscow said Estonian leadership has “purposefully destroyed” relations with Russia.

In response, Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu said the Russian ambassador must leave, in accordance with “the principle of parity.”

Russia ordered the closure of Estonia’s consulate in St. Petersburg last April.