Estonia expels Russian diplomat for ‘justifying’ Moscow’s military action

Estonia’s foreign ministry said on Friday it had decided to expel a Russian diplomat working at Moscow’s embassy in Tallinn.

The diplomat was “spreading propaganda that justifies Russia’s military action and causing divisions in Estonian society,” it said in a statement.

Russia’s foreign ministry said it would respond to the expulsion, without providing further detail. “As previously stated by the Russian side, Russia will give an appropriate response,” the ministry told the RIA Novosti news agency.

 The Russian Foreign Ministry announced last month that it was downgrading its diplomatic ties with Estonia, with the entire range of bilateral relations having been destroyed. The Baltic country’s ambassador was instructed to leave Moscow on February 7.

Later, the Estonian Foreign Ministry announced that Russian Ambassador to Tallinn Vladimir Lipayev would have to exit the Baltic country at the same time as the Estonian ambassador.

According to Lipayev, the Estonian authorities have created an atmosphere "which is absolutely abnormal for diplomatic relations" and have left Moscow no other choice but to downgrade diplomatic relations.