Estonia terminates legal aid agreement with Russia
On December 7, the Estonian government decided to terminate the agreement with Russia on legal assistance and instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to prepare and submit a bill to the parliament.
This is reported by Postimees, Ukrinform reports.
According to Foreign Minister Margus Tsakhkny, efforts to isolate Russia in the international arena should be continued and bilateral relations with Russia should be maintained only at the necessary minimum level as long as its full-scale aggression against Ukraine continues.
"Our goal is to terminate the treaty as soon as possible, as Estonia's clear position is that we do not cooperate with the aggressor," he said.
The treaty would automatically be extended in 2025. After the treaty expires, legal cooperation with Russia will be carried out in the same way as with any other third countries.
Estonian lawyers have noted that one of the inconveniences that Russian citizens in Estonia and Estonian citizens in Russia will face is that all official documents, such as marital status certificates, birth certificates, death certificates, etc. will require additional apostille confirmation.
Author - Serhii Kolomiets, 08/12/2023
