Estonia Condemns Russia 'Extremely Serious' Airspace Violation

Estonia summoned the Russian ambassador, on Tuesday, to protest an "extremely serious" violation of its airspace by a Russian helicopter.

This is the second time in less than two weeks that Tallinn has reprimanded Moscow's envoy. The Estonian foreign ministry revealed that the helicopter had flown over a point in the southeast without permission on 18 June.

"Estonia considers this an extremely serious and regrettable incident that undoubtedly causes additional tensions and is completely unacceptable," it said in a statement, repeating calls for Russian troops to leave Ukraine.

"Russia must stop threatening its neighbours and understand that the price of the aggression Russia launched against Ukraine is indeed high," the statement read.

In the same vein, the country expressed solidarity with fellow Baltic nation Lithuania, which Moscow said will be punished for banning the transit of some goods to the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.

Almost two weeks ago, Estonia summoned the Russian ambassador to condemn President Vladimir Putin‘s “completely unacceptable” praise for Tsar Peter the Great.

Estonia’s foreign minister said Ambassador Vladimir Lipayev had been summoned “to condemn recent statements by President Putin … including his comments on the Estonian city of Narva,” it said in a statement.

“At a time when Russia is … trying to destroy the statehood and people of Ukraine, it is also completely unacceptable,” it added.

Putin paid tribute to Tsar Peter the Great, an 18th-century Russian ruler who captured a city that is now Estonian. He specifically mentioned Narva, which belongs to the Baltic state.

“Peter the Great waged the great northern war for 21 years. It would seem that he was at war with Sweden, he took something from them. He did not take anything from them, he returned [what was Russia’s],” the Russian leader said after seeing an exhibition dedicated to the tsar.