Russia detains Estonian consul over classified info claim

MOSCOW (AP) — Estonia’s consul in St. Petersburg has been detained after allegedly being caught receiving classified documents, Russia’s Federal Security Service said Tuesday.

The agency statement did not give further information about the detention of Consul Mart Latte but said that “such activities are incompatible with the status of a diplomatic worker and are openly hostile to Russia.”

Estonian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Aari Lemmik said the detention is “a provocation and damaging to European Union member states and the EU as a whole.”

Russia has expelled Estonian diplomats two times this year, both in retaliation for Estonia’s expulsion of Russian diplomats.