Estonian consulate general closes in St. Petersburg

ST. PETERSBURG. April 25 (Interfax) - The Estonian Consulate General in St. Petersburg has closed, but the embassy in Moscow continues working, the diplomatic mission said on Monday.

"The Consulate General of the Republic of Estonia in St. Petersburg is closed. For visa and consular services, please contact the Embassy of the Republic of Estonia in Moscow," the consulate general said on its website.

The diplomatic mission will still issue documents which are ready, such as passports, ID cards, and residence permit cards, until April 29.

"Documents which have not been collected until April 29, 2022, will be forwarded to the Embassy of the Republic of Estonia in Moscow. Documents requested earlier will also be forwarded to the embassy by default," the consulate said.

All visa applications received before April 25 will be considered, it said. Passports, as well as decisions made, will be returned within the established deadline, it said.

Last week, the Consulate General of Lithuania in St. Petersburg announced the decision to stop receiving applications for facilitated transit documents starting April 25 and will cease to provide the remaining consular services starting on April 29. Diplomats advised inquiring with the Lithuanian Embassy to Russia about any matters from May 2.

Last week, the Consulate General of Latvia in St. Petersburg announced it is ceasing operations on May 1.

The Russian Foreign Ministry earlier revoked its consent to the functioning of the Latvian, Lithuanian, and Estonian consulates general in St. Petersburg. Employees of the diplomatic missions were declared personae non gratae and ordered to leave Russia. The Russian Foreign Ministry said that this decision was made on the basis of the reciprocity principle following the closure of Russia's consulates general in Lithuania's Klaipeda, Latvia's Liepaja and Daugavpils, and Estonia's Narva and Tartu.