Estonia will expel the Russian ambassador, as a measure of reciprocity after a similar decision taken by Moscow earlier on Monday against the Estonian ambassador, according to an official statement, quoted by AFP and Agerpres.

„We respect the principle of reciprocity in relations with Russia,” the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a Twitter post on Monday, stressing that the Russian ambassador will have to leave Estonia today as its diplomatic representative in Russia on February 7.

Russia announced on Monday that it was expelling Estonia’s ambassador, denouncing Tallinn’s „total Russophobia”, following the previous expulsion in January of 21 Russian diplomats and other Russian embassy staff.

„The ambassador of the Republic of Estonia must leave Russia on February 7, 2023,” the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement, stating that it had reduced the level of diplomatic relations to businessmen.

The Russian MFA added that the measure is a reaction to Estonia’s decision to reduce the number of employees at the Russian embassy in Tallinn.

„In recent years, Estonia’s leadership has intentionally destroyed the entire range of relations with Russia. Total Russophobia, the cultivation of hostility towards our country has been raised by Tallinn to the rank of state policy”, the statement also mentions.

Agerpres