https://24tv.ua/
Estonia tells its top Russian Orthodox clergyman to leave the country
Reuters: Estonia has told the head of its branch of the Russian Orthodox Church to leave the country, calling him a threat to national security, Estonian public broadcaster ERR reported on Thursday.
Valeri Reshetnikov, who heads the Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate as Metropolitan Eugene, was refused an extension of his residence permit and will have to leave by Feb. 6, ERR said, citing the country's Police and Border Guard spokesperson.
The Estonian government has repeatedly asked Reshetnikov to "stop vindicating the Kremlin regime and Russia's military actions in his statements" but he failed to do this, the spokesperson said.
Neither the Russian Orthodox Church nor Estonian authorities were immediately available for comment.
Estonia and its Baltic neighbours Latvia and Lithuania are among the staunchest supporters of Ukraine as it battles Russia's invasion. All three Baltic states were ruled by Moscow for decades during the Soviet era and today are members of NATO and the European Union, which Ukraine also aspires to join.
In largely secular Estonia, the Orthodox Church, favoured by its sizeable ethnic Russian minority, is the most widespread religion, with 16% of the population affiliated with it.
Ethnic Russians make up nearly one quarter of Estonia's 1.3 million-strong population, the country's 2021 census showed.
The Lutheran Church, which is favoured by Estonians, is in second place, with eight percent of the population affilated.
Earlier this week, the Estonian Internal Security Service said it had detained a Russian citizen who is a professor at Tartu University on suspicion of spying for Moscow.
In World
-
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday accused Ukraine of using Western-supplied long-range missiles to attack Russian territory, prompting Moscow to test a new medium-range missile system dubbed "Hazel."
-
Russia said on Thursday that a new U.S. ballistic missile defence base in northern Poland will lead to an increase in the overall level of nuclear danger, but Warsaw said "threats" from Moscow only strengthened the argument for NATO defences.
-
Britain and Romania offered their support to Moldova on Wednesday in tackling the effects of Russia's 1,000-day-old invasion of neighbouring Ukraine as London signed a new security and defence partnership agreement with the ex-Soviet state.
-
The United States on Wednesday vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire in the war in Gaza because it was not linked to an immediate release of hostages taken captive by Hamas militants in Israel in October 2023.
Leave a review