Russia Pissed At Estonia

Russia reacted furiously on Friday to the removal of a Soviet war monument from Estonia's capital and analysts predicted a long-running "cold war" between the neighbours.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov voiced disgust at the removal of the Bronze Soldier memorial from central Tallinn, which followed the death of one person in rioting.

The lower house of parliament urged a ban on entry to Russia of the politicians involved in the removal.

"We think this is a terrible situation," Lavrov said in Oslo, describing the monument to Soviet Red Army soldiers as "sacred".

The Estonian government "spat on those things," he said, adding that it was the Estonian side that "chose to make relations abnormal".