Russian senator: relations between Moscow and Tallinn must be pragmatic

The relations between Moscow and Tallinn must be pragmatic and they have to be based on a mutual respect of national interests, said Mikhail Margelov, chair of International Committee under Russia's Federation Council. He participated in the seminar "Russia and NATO's expansion: new perspectives in Russian-Estonian relations", which had been organized by the Baltic Center for Russian Studies and concluded its work on Friday in Tallinn.

During the concluding press conference, Russian senator stated that in Soviet times the relationship between Russia and Estonia resembled a "marriage without love", that's why in 1991, when the Soviet Union collapsed, both countries "had a sort of very emotional divorce accompanied by mutual resentment". Today, according to Margelov, "the time for a marriage of convenience has come" because, after all, Russia and Estonia are two neighboring countries.

The senator suggested that the political leaders of both countries "get to know each other better". In Margelov's words, Estonia "must realize that modern Russia is not just a modified replica of the Soviet Union, it's a completely different country". In its turn, Russia must realize that Estonia "is not just a former Soviet republic".

The head of the International Committee informed the journalists that Moscow is considering to grant Estonia the "most favorable" status in the trade with Russia.