Moscow, Russia

The diplomatic relations between Russia and Estonia were downgraded on Monday after the latter's ambassador was ordered to leave Russia, as the country was accused of "total Russophobia".

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As the Estonian ambassador was expelled, the Russian foreign ministry announced on Monday that the charge d’affaires will head the diplomatic mission of the country. 

"The ambassador of the Estonian Republic will have to leave the Russian Federation on February 7," the foreign ministry said in a statement, adding that the diplomatic representation of Estonia will also be downgraded from now. 

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According to the statement, the measure was adopted after the staff levels were reduced by Estonia at the Russian embassy in Tallinn.

The ministry added that the step was taken in retaliation for Estonia’s “new unfriendly step to radically reduce the size of the Russian Embassy in Tallinn.”

“In recent years, the Estonian leadership has purposefully destroyed the entire range of relations with Russia. Total Russophobia, the cultivation of hostility towards our country have been elevated by Tallinn to the rank of state policy,” read the statement issued by the Russian foreign ministry on Monday. 

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Earlier this month, the Estonian foreign ministry asked Russia to cut down the number of staff present in the embassy to eight diplomats and 15 technical, service and administrative staff members to “reach parity in embassy staff” by February 1.

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On January 11, Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu, in a statement, said that Estonia's bilateral ties with Moscow have been reduced “to the absolute minimum” since Russia sent its troops to capture Ukrainian regions. 

“Now we are setting a limit to the number of Russian diplomats working in Estonia in order to achieve parity. Today’s step is in correlation with the low point of our relations in general,” the minister said.

(With inputs from agencies)

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