"We hope to develop a dialogue and political consultations within the Russia-NATO Council," Jaak Aaviksoo said. "We also hope that the council's format will be more substantiated as Russia and NATO have enough spheres for interaction. Finally, it has become evident that it is also necessary to sign an agreement with Russia on the protection of soldiers' burial places."
Last Thursday the government of Estonia decided to transfer control of all the country's military cemeteries to the Defense Ministry. The ministry now has independent authority to decide without any input from municipal authorities where to locate cemeteries and how to maintain them.
The move is likely linked to Estonia's proposed reburial of Soviet soldiers buried near a Soviet monument in central Tallinn.
Last Wednesday, the Estonian minister of defense said that the reburial process would begin at the end of April, while Estonian mass media reported that the ministry had drafted a detailed plan on how the graves were to be dug up, and how the remains of soldiers would be identified and reburied.
Reports also said the ministry had a plan on how to dismantle and move the Bronze Soldier statue.
Estonia's commission on wartime burials recommended March 13 removing the World War II Bronze Soldier statue, which is part of a Soviet-era memorial, from central Tallinn to a "quieter" military cemetery, in accordance with a new law passed in January.
The six-foot Bronze Soldier and other Soviet memorials have recently become rallying points for ethnic Russians, and following clashes with Estonian nationalists near the statues the authorities called for monuments "dividing society" to be removed.
Russia has accused Estonia of encouraging Nazism and discrimination against ethnic Russians, and even prompted a debate on possible energy sanctions against Estonia. Moscow has also called for international organizations to step in.
