The Russian Foreign Ministry said that an Estonian politician's call to ban voting in the Russian presidential election in European Union (EU) countries was another attempt to discriminate against Russians.
 |
| Former Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu. (Source: Getty) |
Last week, Urmas Reinsalu, leader of the Isamaa party and former Estonian foreign minister, proposed banning voting in the Russian presidential election in the EU. He said Estonia, for its part, could ban Russia from opening polling stations at its embassy.
Meanwhile, Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna affirmed that his country did not interfere in voting at the Russian Embassy in Tallinn on the day of the presidential election in Russia, because Moscow has the right to do so under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
“We consider this an attempt to introduce yet another discriminatory measure against our compatriots living in Estonia, who have already been denied Estonian citizenship, and now it is proposed to deprive them of the opportunity to exercise the rights of Russian citizens,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, Moscow was not surprised by Mr. Reinsalu's proposal, as it fits into the anti-Russian sentiment of contemporary EU politicians and the "Western collective" in general, adding that the Estonian politician's call is inconsistent with international law.
Source
Comment (0)