The Russian Foreign Ministry protested to the Estonian ambassador about the expulsion of a Russian diplomat country in retaliation for Moscow’s decision to declare Mart Latte, Estonian consul in Saint Petersburg, persona non grata.

Latte was arrested ‘red-handed’ receiving classified materials from a Russian citizen, which was described as ‘incompatible with the status of diplomatic worker and clearly hostile towards the Russian Federation’ by the authorities of the country.

According to the statement from the Russian diplomatic service, Laidre was given a note indicating that, based on the principle of reciprocity, an employee of the Estonian diplomatic mission in Moscow must leave the country within the period of one week.

The Russian Foreign Ministry urged Estonia not to continue exacerbating the diplomatic dispute between the two countries, because ‘otherwise, a new decisive response will follow.’

‘In this case, all responsibility for the deterioration of bilateral relations will fall entirely on the Estonian side,’ the Foreign Ministry stressed.

pgh/mem/mml