Russian Embassy in Tallinn: nobody invited Estonian Foreign minister to Russia

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The Russian Embassy in Estonia commented to a REGNUM correspondent on the reason why visa was denied to Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet. Today, on November 10, the Russian embassy stated that an official note of the Estonian Foreign Ministry with visa request for Paet was received by the Russian embassy only two days before the planned travel, so they could grant visa only by violating all Russian laws of high official welcome rules.

As the embassy officials noted, the current Russian laws on high official (that includes Foreign Ministers) welcome presume that a high guest must be invited by the corresponding Russian organization that can provide transport, communication and security. In the case of Paet, no such invitation existed, and the Russian party could not provide the head of the Estonian Foreign Ministry with an appropriate welcome. Moreover, the organizers invited representatives of the Estonian Foreign Ministry, not the minister himself. To all other Estonian representatives, who received invitations to the conference in Saint-Petersburg, visas have been granted.

The Russian embassy also stated that it officially explained all its actions to the Estonian Foreign Ministry and reminded that visits of high officials in Russia must be carried out according to the current rules and norms of international communication. “We did not mean to harm the Estonian side,” stressed the embassy press office.