Reinsalu: Deal allows Estonians stuck in coronavirus chaos home via Poland
Foreign minister Urmas Reinsalu (Isamaa) says an agreement has been struck between Poland and all three Baltic nations' foreign ministers which should facilitate Estonian citizens stuck on the German-Polish border to return home.
"We have reached an agreement with Poland and other baltic foreign ministers on the question of people trapped on the polish-German border," Reinsalu wrote on his social media page late Sunday night.
"Based on this emergency agreement, we will start the organization of Estonian nationals on theGerman-Polish border. The content of the agreement is to form a column of citizens of the baltic nations, which will proceed from the west border of Poland to its eastern border (i.e. with Lithuania-ed.)."
Those affected should contact the foreign ministry on [email protected] if they wish to be included in the convoy, by 8.00 a.m. Estonian time on Monday, Reinsalu added.
The Estonian government opted to close its borders to foreign nationals on Tuesday, March 17, meaning only Estonian citizens and those holding residents' permits in Estonia will be granted entry, along with family members.
While Lithuania and Latvia have enacted similar measures, the Polish government announced it would be closing its borders at midnight local time on Sunday, which potentially could have left Estonians and those resident there stranded as they attempted to return to the country by road.
Urmas Reinsalu had on Saturday urged Estonian nationals to return home from any foreign trips as soon as possible, with the government issuing a call to travel companies to expedite this on Sunday morning.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte