OREANDA-NEWS. The Estonian authorities have officially banned the planned visit to Tallinn of Sedov, the largest training sailboat in the world, so the bark will continue on its way without entering the Estonian capital. As explained in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic, the reason is that on board the ship are cadets of the Kerch State Marine Technological University, and issuing permission to enter the territorial waters of the country would contradict the policy of not recognizing the reunification of Crimea with Russia.

In essence, there is nothing out of the ordinary in this decision of the Estonian authorities. On the contrary, it fits completely into the long-established foreign policy line of the Baltic republic. Moreover, it is worthwhile to pay tribute to the Estonian diplomats, who turned to the Crimean legal, rather than paranoid-spy argument, as a justification for the refusal. This is some kind of progress.

The fact is that the Sedov is not the first ship that Estonia refuses to call at its ports. For example, in November, the same fate befell the research vessel of the Russian Academy of Sciences "Academician Nikolai Strakhov". According to a recent report by the Estonian Foreign Intelligence Department, Russia is actively exploiting civilian vessels "in the interests of security."

However, the situation takes on a different meaning, if we recall that all this happens a few days before the visit to Moscow of Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid and her meetings with the Russian president.

So the whole story with “Sedov” turned out to be very useful for the Estonian leadership, which can demonstrate the uncompromising position on Russia and convince all those who doubt that there is not the slightest cause for concern about the meeting between Kersti Kaljulaid and Vladimir Putin.