Tallinn - A young Russian-born girl abandoned in the Estonian capital, Tallinn, remains in the care of local social services nearly a week after she was found.

The two-year-old was found alone near a shopping centre in Tallinn last Saturday, sparking a widespread media campaign in an effort to identify her.

That paid dividends on Tuesday when a relative contacted police and revealed the girl was born to Russian parents but sent to Estonia to live with an uncle. Estonia has a sizeable ethnic Russian minority, accounting for around a quarter of the population.

"It is a very complicated case, because the parents of the baby have Russian citizenship and are in Russia," Reet Raak of Tallinn's social services department told the Postimees newspaper Thursday.

However, contrary to some media reports, the Estonian foreign ministry told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa Friday that there has been no contact between the ministry and the Russian embassy about the girl, and that no contact was planned as the matter is the subject of a criminal investigation.

The girl's uncle, who has three other children, was arrested on Wednesday and could serve up to three years in jail is found guilty of mistreating a child. (dpa)