Russian Ambassador to Estonia Notes 'Certain Positive Aspects' in Relations

TALLINN (Sputnik) — Russian Ambassador to Estonia Alexander Petrov noted on Friday "positive aspects" in relations between Russia and Estonia.

"I would not be talking about some kind of warming in the relations, but there are certain positive aspects, which manifest themselves in a number of specific cases," Petrov said at a press conference in the Russian embassy in Tallinn.

Among such cases, Petrov noted the visit of the Estonian delegation of businesspeople, lawmakers and Deputy Secretary General for Transport Ahti Kuningas to logistics exhibition TransRussia in Moscow on April 18-20, stating that such delegations had not visited Russia since 2006.

Additionally, Petrov mentioned Estonian Prime Minister Juri Ratas visiting St. Petersburg on April 8 for the 100th anniversary of the demonstration of Estonians in support of their country’s autonomy, resulting in the establishment of Autonomous Governorate of Estonia.

"[Such visits] we record with satisfaction as developments in our bilateral contacts," Petrov stressed.

The ambassador added that an intergovernmental agreement on promoting border and regional cooperation is planned to be signed in the middle of May.

The bilateral relations between Russia and Estonia deteriorated in 2014 amid the crisis in Ukraine. In July 2016, NATO decided to boost its presence in Europe by deploying four multinational battalions to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, citing Russia's alleged interference in that conflict as justification for the move. Moscow has repeatedly denied allegations of involvement in Ukraine that have not been supported by factual evidence, and have warned that amassing troops and military equipment on its borders is provocative, violates past NATO pledges, and can lead to regional and global destabilization.

In February, General Director of the Estonian Information Board (the country’s foreign intelligence service) Mikk Marran said that Russia is the only country that could potentially be a threat to the sovereignty and independence of Estonia.