Mikser: Terror risk in Estonia not high
Minister of Foreign Affairs Sven Mikser confirmed following Monday's subway attack in Saint Petersburg that the risk of terrorism in Estonia was not high, however the government and authorities are continuing to monitor the situation.
"Estonia’s competent authorities and intelligence agencies are actually monitoring all such signs and we are taking each step in accordance with specific threat assessments," Mikser explained in an interview given to ETV news broadcast "Aktuaalne kaamera" on Monday evening.
"Again, in order to avoid any sort of sowing of panic, I want to say that the risk of terrorism in Estonia is not high," he continuned. "At the same time, naturally, taking into account the fact that the opportunity for terrorist attacks does exist in our region, we certainly can’t then sit with our hands in our laps; our competent authorities and the government as a whole must constantly be involved in monitoring the situation and, in case of a change to the threat assessment, must disclose this and adopt appropriate measures.”
Prime Minister Jüri Ratas is scheduled to visit Saint Petersburg on Saturday. According to Mikser, whether or not the visit is still on will be decided shortly beforehand. "We are monitoring what is happening by the hour; certainly nobody will take any unnecessary risks," he said. "But the Office of the Prime Minister will definitely make the call shortly before the visit takes place."
According to the foreign minister, they currently have no accounts of any Estonians being among the victims killed or injured in Monday’s attack. Nonetheless, he asked that any Estonians currently in Saint Petersburg to contact their friends or family and let them know that they are safe. Likewise he asked that anyone who has been able to contact a loved one residing in Saint Petersburg at the time of the attack to contact the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
According to the latest information, at least 11 were killed and dozens more wounded by an explosion on a Saint Petersburg Metro train on Monday afternoon. Russian authorities' investigation of the incident is ongoing; they have not ruled out the possibility of it having been a terrorist attack.
Editor: Aili Vahtla