"It is important for the prime minister to be up-to-date on all family matters and, if questions arise, to be ready to answer them exhaustively," the former prime minister said.

Ansip also drew parallels to the scandal involving British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his spouse, who owned a minor stake in an Indian software business that offered services in Russia. Sunak timely stated that his spouse was a passive shareholder who owned less than one percent of the company and was not involved in operational management decisions.

"I certainly don't have enough knowledge to to pass judgment on anything. I'd like to ask the prime minister to take the opportunity to give thorough clarifications. And these clarifications must indeed be exhaustive, to the satisfaction of the Estonian public, including the opposition parties," Ansip said.

He emphasized that it is now necessary to clarify exactly what the business was and how much of a rescue operation there was.

According to Ansip, it is too early to talk about international reputational damage.

"In today's Politico, there was a relatively balanced news item, with the accusation formulated by the ERR and a rebuttal by Kaja Kallas. Without going too far out on a limb, no stain can be inferred from this news item," he said.

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