Estonia expels Russian diplomats as army joins Nato drills

Estonia’s foreign ministry said Friday it had expelled two Russian diplomats, in the latest incident to strain relations between the small Nato state and Moscow.

“We can confirm that Estonia has expelled two Russian diplomats,” ministry spokeswoman Sandra Kamilova said.

The incident follows a string of spy cases, most recently, the sentencing by a Tallinn court earlier this month of a Russian citizen living in Estonia to five years for spying on behalf of Russia’s GRU military intelligence agency.

Russia’s foreign ministry said in a statement Moscow considered “this step by Tallinn as provocative and unfounded, and it will not be left without a suitable response”.

It further called it a “hostile act” which will “make bilateral relations even more difficult”.