MOSCOW, May 2 (UPI) -- The diplomatic bickering between Estonia and Russia escalated Wednesday in Moscow with Estonia's ambassador claiming Russia is avoiding dialogue.
The dispute began six days ago when the Estonian government ordered the removal of a bronze statue of a Soviet soldier from a square in Tallinn. It was moved to a cemetery on the outskirts of the capital.
At a news conference Wednesday Estonian Ambassador Marina Kaljurand said Russia was meddling with Estonian internal affairs, and denounced the 150 Russian nationalist protesters who have remained outside the Estonian Embassy for the past six days.
The staff has been evacuated and the embassy is closed, the Novosti news agency reported.
At the beginning of the news conference, about 30 Russian youths stormed in, shouting that Estonia is a fascist state, and Kaljurand's bodyguards used pepper spray to disperse them, the report said.
Estonia broke away from the Soviet Union in 1992 and joined NATO and the European Union in 2004.
