Estonia closes Moscow embassy as president berates Russia

ESTONIA:Estonia's president launched a scathing attack on Russia yesterday as the row between the countries escalated and the Baltic state closed its embassy in Moscow after an alleged attack on the ambassador.

Relations between Moscow and Tallinn are at breaking point after the removal of a Soviet war memorial from the centre of the Estonian capital sparked rioting led by ethnic Russians, in which one person died, scores were hurt and about 1,000 arrested.

Russian parliamentarians visiting Estonia this week accused police of "torturing" protesters and demanded the government's resignation, while Tallinn blamed officials in Moscow for cyber-attacks on its computers and for inciting violence in Estonia and Russia.

"I turn to Russia, Estonia's neighbour, with a clear message - try to remain civilised" president Toomas Ilves said in a statement that is unlikely to soothe the Kremlin, which ruled occupied Estonia from 1944 until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

"It is not customary in Europe to demand the resignation of the democratically-elected government of another sovereign country," said Mr Ilves.

"It is customary in Europe that differences . . . between states are solved by diplomats and politicians, not on the streets or by computer attacks," he added. "Those are the ways of other countries - somewhere else - but not in Europe." Foreign minister Urmas Paet said computers belonging to Russian government and Kremlin networks had attacked Estonian websites, and called on Brussels to "react with maximum strength" and consider postponing this month's EU-Russia summit.

For many of Estonia's 1.3 million people, the Bronze Soldier statue is a grim reminder of Soviet occupation, but for most of the country's 300,000 ethnic Russians it is a monument to the Red Army's heroic defeat of Nazi Germany.

The statue has been moved to a military cemetery and the bodies of 12 soldiers found underneath it are now being analysed before reburial.

The European Commission expressed "deep concern" over events in Moscow, where the Estonian embassy closed after a six-day siege by pro-Kremlin activists, who also stormed into a hall where ambassador Marina Kaljurand was about to hold a press conference.

Her bodyguards repelled the intruders before police belatedly arrived.

"There was an attack aimed at me, but no one got to me," Ms Kaljurand said.

Russia's rail operator warned last night that oil deliveries to Estonia may be disrupted this month due to track "maintenance work".