Russia is expelling Estonia's ambassador and the country's diplomatic mission will be headed by a charge d'affaires, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Monday.
Estonian Ambassador Margus Laidre was ordered to leave the country by February 7, the ministry said.
The statement said that Estonia's diplomatic representation from now on will be downgraded to a charge d'affaires heading the European Union country's mission in Moscow.
The ministry said that the move was made 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,” the statement read.
