TARTU - Regional Affairs Minister Jaan Ounapuu has turned down an application by the town of Kallaste for a parallel Russian name - Krasnyie Gory ("Red Hills") - the daily Postimees reported.
Municipal council chairman Leonti Kromonov turned to historical records and the European Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, when considering the application.
Under the Place Names Act, he said, it was not possible to give a second name to an administrative unit such as Kallaste.
"I think it is possible to discuss the issue," Kromonov told the Baltic News Service. "The European Commission has made remarks to Estonia concerning ethnic minorities, and on that basis we can go on applying for a parallel name."