Estonia's parliament declares Russia ‘state sponsor of terrorism’

Deputies of Estonia's Riigikogu (unicameral parliament) on Tuesday declared Russia a state sponsor of terrorism, the national TV and radio broadcasting portal ERR reported.

As the portal points out, 88 deputies voted in favor of the declaration. The ERR stressed that no one abstained or voted against. This document described Russia as "a terrorist regime" and "the main threat to peace in Europe". The portal also said that the Riigikogu had listed the Wagner Group, as well as the Donetsk and the Lugansk People’s Republic’s armed forces as "terrorist organizations".

In addition, the declaration condemned the Russian special military operation in Ukraine and the accession of new territories to Russia. It specified that Estonia "will never recognize" the results of the referendums held in the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions, as well as in the DPR and LPR. In addition, members of the Riigikogu called to exclude Russia from the UN Security Council.

On August 11, the Latvian Saeima (Parliament) also declared Russia ‘a state sponsor of terrorism’. In retaliation, the Russian Foreign Ministry published a statement saying that Latvia's actions were provocative and "blatantly contradicted existing international law". Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has previously described such initiatives as "foolish". The Russian Foreign Ministry’s Deputy Spokesman Ivan Nechayev stated on August 18 that Moscow was working on countermeasures to retaliate Latvia's decision.