MOSCOW, May 5. /TASS/. Ending the activity of the Russian diplomatic missions in the Baltic states would mean that Russians living there would be left alone with police arbitrariness, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a commentary.
"It is highly undesirable to come to this point," the diplomat said, adding that Russia would continue to use diplomatic measures of influence.
"Russia never initiates the severance of diplomatic relations with other countries, seeking to preserve the opportunity for dialogue. Although unfriendly states do everything possible to complicate normal interaction," Zakharova said. "The Baltic states have been particularly successful on that track. Due to the openly hostile policy of Vilnius, Riga and Tallinn, all interstate, interdepartmental, regional and sectoral ties with Russia have been severed," she stressed.
One should not forget that a large number of Russian-speaking people, including Russian citizens, live in these states, she noted.
The diplomat emphasized that in the current situation, Russia cannot leave its fellow countrymen in trouble. It "actively fights these, in fact, neo-fascist manifestations not only in specialized international agencies, but also directly in the Baltic States" through the efforts of embassies.