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Russia declares two Estonian diplomats persona non grata

The ministry made this statement after summoning Estonian Ambassador Arti Hilpus

© Stanislav Krasilnikov/TASS

MOSCOW, May 31. /TASS/. Russia has declared the Estonian consul-general in St. Petersburg and the head of the consulate-general’s Pskov chancery as persona non grata, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.

As the ministry said, "due to the unfriendly action by the Estonian authorities, which have declared two Russian diplomats as persona non grata, Ambassador of the Estonian Republic in Moscow Arti Hilpus was summoned to the Foreign Ministry of Russia on May 31."

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Russia to respond to diplomats’ expulsion from Estonia on tit-for-tat basis

"The head of the Estonian diplomatic mission was handed over a note, which says that in response to Tallinn’s afore-mentioned provocative step, a decision has been made to declare Estonian Consul-General in St. Petersburg Jaanus Kirikmae and Head of the Pskov Chancery of the Consulate-General in St. Petersburg Katrin Kanarik as persona non grata," the ministry said.

"These Estonian diplomats were ordered to leave the Russian Federation within five days," the statement says.

The Russian side "stressed again that the Estonian authorities’ continued destructive line will inevitably have a most negative impact on bilateral relations."

"The Estonian authorities will bear the entire responsibility for the consequences of such policy," the ministry said.

TASS earlier reported citing Russian Ambassador to Estonia Alexander Petrov that Russian Consul-General in Narva Dmitry Kazennov and Consul Andrei Surgayev will leave Estonian on the demand of the local authorities until the end of this month.

Estonian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Sandra Kamilova told TASS on May 26 that Kazennov and Surgayev would be expelled from Estonia. The Estonian side gave no reasons for this move.

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