"In this case, the embassy and the headquarters of Estonia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs had no role whatsoever in initiating this visit or agreeing on its itinerary," said ministry spokesperson Liisa Toots. "This was done by the Chinese Embassy in Estonia in cooperation with the Chinese People's Institute of Foreign Affairs (CPIFA), which was the delegation's official host."

According to Toots, the Riigikogu's Estonia-China parliamentary friendship group, six members of which participated in the recent visit to China, had informed the Foreign Ministry about their planned trip, but did not seek a recommendation from the ministry regarding whether or not to proceed with the visit.

"The Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs did, however, hold a video briefing for MPs regarding China on August 22," she noted. "This briefing covered, among other topics, Estonia-China relations as well as China-EU relations, including political, economic and all kinds of potential value-based issues between China and Europe – particularly, of course, regarding China's support for Russia."

The spokesperson said that the ministry also explained to MPs about common misconceptions prevalent in China, such as about NATO enlargement and NATO's role in the war in Ukraine.

"The goal of the briefing was to provide MPs with a clearer and broader understanding of China's role in the world and its growing importance at the international level," Toots explained.

"On September 1, a briefing on China-EU relations and related issues was also held at the Estonian Embassy in Beijing by deputy head of the EU Delegation to China Mattias Lentz, who explained in detail various aspects of EU-China relations, including the human rights situation in Xinjiang and Hong Kong," she continued. "That same night, a briefing for MPs was also held by diplomats from the Estonian Embassy in Beijing."

The Foreign Ministry representative emphasized that Estonian embassies will always support the visits of official Estonian delegations to various countries whenever possible.

"The Estonian Embassy's ambassador and political diplomat were only present at the friendship group's meetings on September 2 and 6," she said, adding that the rest of the itinerary was not attended by the embassy's diplomats, including the ambassador.

"This March, Ambassador Hannes Hanso informed Riigikogu MPs and officials about potential problems and reactions concerning the covering of travel expenses by China, and recommended that the Riigikogu definitely cover travel expenses itself," said Toots. "Nevertheless, in accordance with the principle of separation of powers, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not issue orders or bans to MPs, and they are free to make their own decisions and act."

'MPs must be, but also appear to be, independent'

Minister of Foreign Affairs Margus Tsahkna (Eesti 200) has already previously told ERR that he doesn't believe that the recent visit looks good, especially given the fact that China partially covered the expenses involved in the MPs' visit.

"Yes, members of the Riigikogu are free in their speech and deeds, including in their visits, and it is common diplomatic practice to visit countries with whom we have diplomatic relations, but considering the current foreign policy situation, then we should nonetheless be paying for the expenses from such visits ourselves," a ministry spokesperson said Tuesday on Tsahkna's behalf.

"It is crucial that members of the Riigikogu are, but also appear to be, independent, so the fact that this visit was paid for by China is something the MPs will have to explain to their voters," they added.

Riigikogu Estonia-China parliamentary friendship group chair Toomas Kivimägi (Reform), deputy chair Helmen Kütt (SDE) and members Andrei Korobeinik (Center), Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart (Center), Lauri Laats (Center) and Mart Maastik (Isamaa) visited China from August 29 through September 9, although some members of the delegation returned to Estonia sooner.

The MPs' local expenses were paid for by the People's Republic of China.

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