«The employment contract was terminated by mutual agreement, although not due to the circumstances that came to light on Monday. In the period before and after this, he occasionally commented on foreign topics as a guest on Russian-language radio and television programs,» wrote ERR.

Erik Roose, Chairman of the Management Board of ERR, said that in light of Monday’s news, ERR has made its first quick summaries, as the news is unpleasant and requires more thorough analysis.

«When Karabeshkin was hired, there were no suspicions about him. During his employment, the editorial team saw no signs of such sentiment or influence activities that would have been reflected in the content. Otherwise, we would have acted immediately and terminated the employment contract. We will discuss further with the editorial managers what lessons can be learned from this,» Roose told ERR.

He often appeared in the media as an expert, commenting on political developments in Russia and around the world. His main research topics became Russia’s relations with the Baltic states and the European Union. Karabeshkin has previously publicly expressed the view that Moscow’s security interests should not be ignored.

In a comment to the portal Stolitsa in September 2022, he supported former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who had urged not to ignore Vladimir Putin’s statements regarding nuclear weapons. Karabeshkin noted at the time that the words of the Russian leadership should be treated as a political signal about the need to consider Russia’s security concerns, rather than just a direct military threat.