Estonia decided to leave the Eastern European initiative aimed at strengthening relations with Beijing, including because of China’s refusal to condemn Russia invasion of Ukraine. It is reported by Bloomberg with reference to a senior diplomat of the Baltic country.
“This was definitely a factor that we took into account when making a decision. Before that, we consulted with a number of allies,” said the diplomat.
Estonia and Latvia joined Lithuania and abandoned the so -called “16+1” format, created in 2012 for cooperation in infrastructure and development projects. A source familiar with the progress of the discussion said that both states sought the release of other members, but to no avail. According to him, three or four other members consider the possibility of leaving, but this is a political decision that depends on the leader in power at the moment.
“The format did not give a significant practical result, and we would prefer to conduct relations with China through the EU as a whole,” the Foreign Minister explained.