Estonia expelling 2 Russian envoys

COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Estonia has informed Russia that two of its diplomats in the country will be expelled, the Baltic country’s Foreign Ministry said Friday.

Estonian Foreign Ministry spokesman Sandra Kamilova said the Russian Embassy in Tallinn had been informed of the decision, but the ministry declined to provide further details.

It wasn’t clear when the diplomats would be deported.

A statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry called the move “provocative and baseless” and said that “of course, it will not remain without appropriate response,” suggesting that Russian would expel two Estonians.

News agency Baltic News Service reported that the diplomats were Russian Consul General Dmitry Kazennov and Consul Andrey Surgaev, both in Narva, Estonia’s third-largest city, which sits on the border with Russia.

Estonia’s relations with Russia have remained uneasy since the former Soviet republic gained independence in 1991.

Estonia has caught several spies working for Moscow, mostly Estonian citizens but also Russians.

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