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Russian upper house proposes Putin sever ties with Estonia

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Russia's upper house has submitted to the president a resolution to break off diplomatic ties with Estonia following the removal of a Soviet World War II monument in Tallinn.
MOSCOW, April 27 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's upper house has submitted to the president a resolution to break off diplomatic ties with Estonia following the removal of a Soviet World War II monument in Tallinn.

The monument was removed from the central square in Tallinn overnight, despite the Estonian premier's assurances that it would stay in place until after Victory Day on May 9. Clashes between police and protesters left one dead and at least 57 injured, including 13 police officers.

Members of Russia's lower house, the State Duma, have joined the initiative of the upper house and passed a resolution calling for severing relations with Russia's Baltic neighbor, and also proposed recalling the Russian ambassador for consultations, a senior parliamentarian said.

"Deputies of the State Duma expect the government to take urgent measures against the immoral actions of the Estonian authorities, first of all in trade and economic, namely transportation, energy and finance," the Duma said in the resolution, also censuring the monument removal in a country, which has been dominated by nationalist sentiments ever since the breakup of the Soviet Union.

The legislators also called on Russian authorities to secure condemnation from international organizations such as the UN, Council of Europe, OSCE, CIS, and the Russia-NATO Council.

Police reinforcements have been brought in to protect Estonian Embassies in Moscow and St. Petersburg. More than 50 protesters have gathered in front of the embassy building in Moscow, with ten of them clad in WWII uniforms.

Police arrested over 300 people in the riots last night and used tear gas and water cannons to disperse opponents of the government's decision to exhume the remains of 13 Soviet soldiers, who died liberating Estonia from the Nazis in 1944 and were buried at the site three years later.

The Estonian Ambassador in Moscow, Marina Kaljurand, said the exhumation of the soldiers' remains had not started. "It will begin after the Estonian Lutheran Church and the Russian Orthodox Church have conducted a church service," she said, adding that the remains of the soldiers would be buried at a war cemetery in central Tallinn.

She also said Estonia, an EU member, honored the memory of all victims of fascism and those who fought against it. "Estonia is a democratic country and there is no revival of fascism in Estonia," she said. "One should judge a country by its conduct."

She said Estonia considered Russia's proposal to cut diplomatic ties blackmail. "We consider breaking off diplomatic relations an ungrounded move," Kaljurand said, adding that Estonia was a sovereign country acting in compliance with international law.

"No one has the right to interfere in Estonia's internal affairs," she said. "We will not listen to other countries' blackmail and threats."

She also said Estonia had invited Russia to take part in the reburial of the soldiers' remains, which was "an act of good will."

Russia's Foreign Ministry has said it would revise relations with its northwestern neighbor, which decided to remove the monument because it "divides society." Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow would not overreact but would take "serious measures."

"We must not overreact but take serious measures to demonstrate our true attitude to this inhuman act," Lavrov said during his trip to Oslo.

Estonia's government has meanwhile refused to reveal the current whereabouts of the monument. "Information regarding the location of the monument is not being released," Kateriin Leini, a government advisor, said.

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