1 Russia sharply attacked the Baltic republic of Estonia on Friday, accusing it of 'complicity' with the rebel Chechnya and of seeking to undermine Russian statehood, news reports said.
2 The Russian criticism stemmed from a recent Estonian parliamentary debate on Chechnya's right to self-determination.
3 In a protest issued to the Estonian ambassador Juri Kahnu, Russia pointed out that an Estonian parliament resolution called on the Tallinn government to recognize the separatist republic.
4 The Russian Foreign Ministry said it regarded the parliamentary's step as an 'open interference in the Russia's internal affairs,' that might affect bilateral relations, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported.
5 The parliamentary motion was a fresh evidence of Estonia's 'complicity' with the regime of Chechen President Dzhokhar Dudayev and Estonian attempts to undermine Russian statehood, the protest stated, according to ITAR-Tass.
6 Dudayev was based in Estonia while he served in the Soviet military as an air force general, and was sympathetic toward the Baltic nation's independence drive.
7 In turn, many Estonians, still bitter about the 50-year Russian rule that ended in 1991, support Chechnya's independence bid. The Estonian government was critical of the Russian military brutality but made no moves to recognize Chechnya.

Russia sharply attacked the Baltic republic of Estonia on Friday , accusing it of " complicity " with the rebel Chechnya and of seeking to undermine Russian statehood , news reports said .
Estonia
How did Russia go about attacking Chechnya?