Russian sanction won't cause heavy losses to Estonia: Estonian PM

Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip said on Saturday that even if Russia imposes sanctions on Estonia over its removal of the World War II Soviet soldier's statue, Estonia will not suffer heavy losses.

Ansip said he did not know whether Russia will slap sanctions. But if sanctions are imposed, they will not have much impact on Estonia as his country does not rely heavily on Russia, reports from Estonian capital of Tallinn said.

He added that only 2 percent of Estonia's foreign investment comes from Russia.

He also said if Russia imposes sanctions, Estonia will be able to solve its own energy problem, warning that it is Russian business people and investors who will bear the brunt of any possible Russian sanctions.

Ansip criticized Russia's reaction to Estonia's removal of the soldier's statue, saying that as a strategic partner of the European Union, Russia's actions were "unacceptable."

The Estonian government decided on April 27 to pull down the soldier's statue located in the center of Tallinn, provoking strong protests from Russian-speaking Estonians and sparking a row with Russia.

On Friday, the consular section of Estonian Embassy in Russia had resumed its normal services after brief suspension resulting from siege by protestors.

Source: Xinhua