Estonian PM: Russian sanctions 'doomed to fail'
Estonia’s prime minister today said any Russian boycott of Estonian goods was “doomed to fail” because many products originating in the Baltic country had a European Union label.
Andrus Ansip’s comments came as Western support solidified behind the Baltic country, which remained at loggerheads with Moscow over the removal of a Soviet monument from central Tallinn.
Russian politicians and businessmen have called for a boycott of Estonian goods, and there have been reports of Russian grocery stores pulling Estonian-made products from their shelves.
“The call to boycott Estonian goods in Russia is doomed to fail as the goods sold there do not carry the label Made in Estonia,” Mr Ansip said.
Many goods produced in the 27-nation bloc have a “Made in the EU” label, he added.
The removal of the Bronze Soldier statue from a Tallinn square to a military cemetery outside the city centre triggered violent protests last week from Estonia’s ethnic Russian minority.
Russians regard the memorial as a tribute to the millions of Soviet soldiers who died fighting Nazi Germany, but for many Estonians it is a bitter reminder of five decades of post-war Soviet occupation.
