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US, EU states rally around Estonia as crisis worsens

EU member countries and the US on Wednesday rallied round Estonia as attacks from Russia deepened the worst diplomatic crisis in the Baltic state since independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip called on the EU to come to the aid of the small newcomer to the bloc, saying the multi-pronged attack from its giant neighbor was "an attack on the entire European Union."

The crisis began last week when Estonian authorities moved a Soviet war memorial from the center of Tallinn, sparking riots.

"A physical attack against the ambassador of Estonia to Moscow ... cyber-attacks from the servers of Russian state authorities ... delegates of the Russian Duma calling for a change of government in Estonia, all indicate that our sovereign state is under heavy attack," Ansip said in a speech in parliament.

"We have turned to the European Union and we ask them to take immediate action. Attacking one member state means an attack against the entire European Union," Ansip said.

On Wednesday, members of a pro-Kremlin youth movement that has been blockading the Estonian embassy in Moscow since last week tried to attack the Baltic state's ambassador to Russia.

Family members of staff working at the embassy were evacuated.

The German EU presidency issued a statement urging "the Russian Federation to comply with its international obligations under the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations and protect the staff and premises of the Estonian mission and ensure unimpeded access to it."

Sweden protested to Russia after its ambassador Johan Molander was attacked as he left the Estonian embassy in Moscow, the foreign ministry in Stockholm said.
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