Question: Could you comment on Tallinn’s recent refusal to allow the Akademik Primakov research vessel entry into Estonian territorial waters?

Maria Zakharova: This decision is extremely perplexing, given that earlier this year, Estonia granted the same vessel the appropriate permits twice. This time they denied entry without giving any reasons.

Yet, this is the third time Tallinn has refused entry to Russian ships and aircraft of late. In early October, an airplane carrying a Deputy Prime Minister was not allowed to fly across Estonia; in April, the Russian training vessel Sedov was denied entry into the territorial waters of the Republic of Estonia.

We have made a note of these unfriendly demarches. We will take them into account when building bilateral relations with Estonia.