Estonia revokes local voting rights for Russian, Belarusian citizens

This was reported by ERR.  

According to the president, the Estonian parliament understands that making such changes to the Constitution is a decision with very serious consequences.  

"The decision that only citizens of Estonia and European Union countries have the right to vote in local elections is undoubtedly legal," Karis stated.  

At the same time, he emphasized that it is equally important that those who lose the right to vote do not perceive this as an attempt by the state to exclude them from public life or regard them as a security threat.  

"Words alone will not achieve this. Only the Riigikogu (the Estonian parliament) can guarantee that people who have lived here for a long time and are loyal to Estonia will have an open path to Estonian citizenship – even if other countries do not allow them to freely choose citizenship," said the Estonian leader.  

Karis also emphasized that protecting internal peace should not remain just a slogan.  

"Today, we are in a situation where it is irresponsible not to consider how even seemingly noble decisions affect society as a whole," concluded the President of Estonia.

• A ceasefire in Ukraine would allow Russia to rearm and shift troops north, increasing the security risk for Baltic nations, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania warn.