Relations Between Moscow, Tallinn Will Remain Cold - Analyst
MOSCOW. March 5 (Interfax) - The victory of the Reform Party in the Estonian parliament elections will bring no significant changes in the Russian-Estonian relations, head of the Council for foreign and defense policy Sergei Karaganov said.
"Our relations with Estonia are rather tense, although not hostile. I think they will remain so," he told Interfax on Monday.
"Too much depends on the impact the European Union will have on the Estonian leadership, and whether the latter agrees to destroy the monument to Soviet soldiers and their reburial," he said
"I think, the Europeans will try to prevent this attempt to review the results of the Second World War, as it is quite daring not only towards Russia, but the EU as well," Karaganov said. At the same time "Europeans are not going to put any pressure on Estonia either".
"That is why the Russian-Estonian relations will remain cold," he said.
The last Sunday's parliamentary elections were won by the right-wing Reform Party, led by incumbent Prime Minister Andrus Ansip. According to early results, it received 31 mandates out of 101.
Ansip and reformists based their election campaign on the relocation of the Soviet monument, a tougher language policy, clearly pro-Western orientation and an equal income tax for the rich and poor.
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