Estonian Foreign Minister Toomas Hendrik Ilves has caused another wave of fury among supporters of Baltic unity by a recent interview to the Wall Street Journal Europe.

Only a week ago Ilves praised Pan-Baltic cooperation and named Latvia and Lithuania as Estonia's closest political partners, but now it seems he has turned his back on the Baltics again. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was not troubled by Ilves' usage of four-letter words when speaking about the Baltic states. Taavi Toom, head of media relations at the ministry, said the quote was taken out of the context of the interview, which Ilves gave last fall. The story was eventually published on May 10 this year. Ilves told the Baltic News Service agency that rather than referring to Latvia or Lithuania he was commenting on the opinion of one Western diplomat who said Estonians should not think of themselves other than as a Baltic state that used to be part of the former Soviet Union. However, Ilves admitted that after the publication of the story he was honest when he mentioned he did not feel like a Balt and that the root of the problem is the notion of the three Baltic states linked together. All that Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have in common are negative things, Ilves argues. The opposition reported it was disappointed, but could barely conceal its pleasure at being handed a ready-made scandal. The Center Party in a written statement released on May 11 demanded Ilves apologize to Latvians and Lithuanians. The foreign minister's idea that by insulting its neighbors Estonia can change its image for Northern and Western European countries is erroneous, the statement continued. Edgar Savisaar, chairman of the Center Party, said Ilves had never behaved like the foreign minister of Estonia. The opposition leader added that the foreign minister is harming Estonia's relations with her neighboring countries.