Russia expels Latvian and Estonian ambassadors in a tit-for-tat move

Europe, News January 28, 2023 , by IRIA No Comments

After downgrading its diplomatic relations with Estonia, Russia has given two weeks’ time to the ambassadors of Latvia to leave the country accusing the Baltic states of “Russophobia.” The move comes after Latvia and Estonia asked their respective ambassadors of Russia to leave the country earlier this week.

It all started earlier this week when the Estonian ambassador in Russia Margus Laidre was ordered to leave the country by February 7, 2023, after the Kremlin accused the country of “Russophobia”. In response, Estonia asked the Russian ambassador to leave the country by February 24, 2023.

Just hours after Tallin announced to downgrade of its diplomatic relations with Russia, Latvian foreign released a statement in solidarity with its fellow Baltic states stating that “the ambassador of Russia shall leave by 24 February 2023.”

Russia’s foreign ministry said it had summoned the Latvian ambassador to protest over Riga’s decision to downgrade relations with Russia on January 27, 2023, and ordered Latvia’s envoy to leave the country within two weeks.

“Latvia’s ambassador Maris Riekstins was ordered to leave the Russian Federation within two weeks,” the Foreign Ministry in Moscow said in a statement. The statement also mentioned that the Baltic states’ downgrade of diplomatic relations is a result of “total Russophobia and a desire to be the initiator of hostile steps towards Russia, which are encouraged by the United States and some other countries that are unfriendly to us.”

The ministry further criticized measures taken by Riga to restrict the Russian language in Latvia and the destruction of Soviet-era memorials and cultural legacy. Latvia is home to a large ethnic Russian minority.

Tensions between Russia and its European neighbors have spiked after President Vladimir Putin sent Russian troops into Ukraine in February 2022. The tensions are rising even further as the one-year anniversary of the Russian attack on Ukraine comes closer next month.

^{Ukrainian T-64BM tank crews conduct the Defensive Operations lane during the Strong Europe Tank Challenge at the 7th Army Training Command’s Grafenwoehr Training Area. (Image Credit: MAJ Neil Penttila, 7th Army Training Command Public Affairs)}

According to the Russian news agency TASS, About 574 Russian diplomats have been expelled from Western countries and some of the U.S. Pacific allies since Moscow attacked Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

The Baltic state, Lithuania, was the first one to downgrade its diplomatic relations with Russia as it expelled the Russian ambassador and called its ambassador back from Moscow in April last year in response to the Russian occupation of Kyiv and its neighboring towns.

The three Baltic states of Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania were once part of the Soviet Union. However, since the fall of Soviet Unions and their independence, the Baltic states have grown further from Russia and have been among a group of NATO allies. All Baltic states strongly oppose Russia’s attack on Ukraine and argue for more Western tanks to be sent to Ukraine to help it fight Russian forces.