Estonia to ban Russian grain exports through its ports, FM says

Estonia is ready to take steps to prevent the transit of Russian grain through its territory, Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna has said.

According to Tsahkna, Russia is looking for new export routes for its grain instead of the Black Sea, and Estonia is ready to take steps to prevent transit through this region, Caliber.Az reports, citing the Estonian Foreign Ministry.

“Our message to freight operators is clear: do not make plans to transport Russian grain through Estonia. We do not consider it acceptable for Russia to start using Estonian ports to export its grain,” the FM noted.

He stressed that the transit of Russian grain through Estonia is currently almost non-existent.

“If pressure emerges to start transporting Russian grain through Estonia, we are prepared to impose our own sanctions to prohibit it,” he added.

The ministry’s press release further stated that Estonia would continue cooperating with Latvia and Lithuania in seeking a regional or European-wide solution to end the transit of Russian grain.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov