Russia has ordered the closure of the Latvian, Lithuanian and Estonian consulates and asked their employees to leave in a retaliatory move, Moscow’s foreign ministry said on Thursday.
In a statement, Russia’s foreign ministry said it was closing the Latvian consulates in St Petersburg and Pskov, the Estonian consulate in St Petersburg and its office in Pskov, and the Lithuanian consulate in St Petersburg.
Earlier in April, Latvia and Estonia each ordered the closure of two Russian consulates over Russia’s actions in Ukraine, while Lithuania told the Russian ambassador to leave.
According to Estonian Foreign Minister Eva-Maria Liimets, Russia's decision was an unfortunate step, but not unexpected. "Russia's move is related to Estonia's decision on April 5 to declare 14 employees of the Russian embassy in Estonia persona non grata and to close consular offices in Narva and Tartu. Estonia made its decisions in coordination with our allies," Liimets emphasized.
Russia closes Baltic consulates and expels employees
Eestlased Venemaal | 21 Apr 2022 | EWR
Eestlased Venemaal
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