TALLINN: Estonia on Saturday accused Russia of stoking already high tensions in the Baltic state by issuing a “groundless” statement over the death of a Russian citizen during rioting in Tallinn.

“The Estonian Foreign Ministry considers it regrettable that the groundless accusations made by the Russian Foreign Ministry are aimed at exacerbating the situation in Estonia,” the Foreign Ministry in Tallinn said in a statement.

The Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Saturday saying a Russian citizen named as Dmitri had been killed in riots in Tallinn, sparked by the removal of a Soviet-era monument in the Estonian capital.

It attacked Estonian police for “excessive force used against demonstrators defending a memorial to those who fought against fascism.” But the Estonian statement said that according to state prosecutors, the death was in “no way linked to the activity of law enforcement officials.” “The evidence gathered so far indicates that Dmitri died as a result of wounds received in an internal quarrel between persons who participated in mass unrest,” the ministry said.

Most of those injured sustained head and hand wounds, which are likely to have been caused by pieces of broken glass from smashed windows,” the health ministry said.

Estonia also refuted the Russian foreign ministry claim that the hundreds of youths who ran riot in Estonia were “defending a memorial to those who fought against fascism,” insisting they were vandalising shops and businesses.—AFP