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Russia bans entry to Estonian foreign ministry’s undersecretary for global affairs

The 31st meeting of the OSCE Ministerial Council, the organization’s decision-making and governing body, was held in Malta on December 5 and 6, 2024

Undersecretary for Global Affairs at the Estonian Foreign Ministry Minna-Liina Lind Estonian Foreign Ministry/ CC BY 2.0

Undersecretary for Global Affairs at the Estonian Foreign Ministry Minna-Liina Lind

© Estonian Foreign Ministry/ CC BY 2.0

MOSCOW, January 13. /TASS/. Undersecretary for Global Affairs at the Estonian Foreign Ministry Minna-Liina Lind has been put on Russia’s stop list in response to Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova’s visa being cancelled ahead of an upcoming OSCE ministerial meeting, a high-ranking source in Moscow told TASS.

"Undersecretary for Global Affairs at the Estonian Foreign Ministry Minna-Liina Lind, who is a known Russophobe, has been put on the list of individuals banned from entering Russia," the source said. "You can look at this as a 'message' from Moscow to Tallinn for insisting on annulling the Maltese entry visa for Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, a move that was made just before the Russian delegation was about to leave for a meeting of the OSCE foreign ministers in early December 2024."

The 31st meeting of the OSCE Ministerial Council, the organization’s decision-making and governing body, was held in Malta on December 5 and 6, 2024. Shortly before the departure of the Russia delegation, it was announced that the Maltese side had cancelled Zakharova’s visa, saying it was taken back "due to circumstances beyond our control." Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov slammed this step as an abuse of the OSCE chairmanship.

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