Estonia orders Russian Embassy to reduce staff by half

The Estonian authorities gave the Russian Embassy here until February 1 to reduce its staff to eight diplomats and 15 administrative and technical employees.

Russia's Ambassador Vladimir Lipayev was summoned to the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and handed a diplomatic note, Xinhua news agency reported.

Estonia's decision is aimed at ensuring a parity in the number of staff working at the Russian and Estonian diplomatic missions in Tallinn and Moscow, according to the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday.

At present, 21 diplomats and 23 administrative and technical employees work at the Russian Embassy in Tallinn.