ERR News 19.04.2103
MP Marko Mihkelson, who headed Estonia's delegation to talks in Moscow last week, said the fresh diplomatic tit-for-tat will not negatively impact the recent positive progress in the Estonian-Russian border treaty negotiations.

"This is certainly not the first instance of its kind and it will not affect everday Estonian-Russian relations," Mihkelson told uudised.err.ee, adding that such diplomatic spats are common around the world.

It was reported on Wednesday that Estonia's consul in St. Petersburg, Franek Persidski, had been declared persona non grata in Russia.

The Estonian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that the move came as retaliation for a similiar decision by Estonian officials.

With regard to the ongoing border treaty talks, Mihkelson said the ball is now in Russian hands, as officials wait for the next step in negotiations. In another sign of improving relations between the two countries, Prime Minister Andrus Ansip recently met with his counterpart Dmitry Medvedev.

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