Russia shuns Estonia's offer to jointly map riverbed border
Russia ignored a proposal by Estonia to jointly measure the bottom of the Narva River to clarify where shipping lanes should be marked. Earlier this year Russian border guards removed Estonian buoys from the border in the middle of the night.
Estonia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs suggested the action in mid-July, saying the process should be carried out in August at the latest.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Margus Tsahkna (Eesti 200) said, while a response was received from Russia, there was no comment about the mapping.
"We have received a response from Russia but it does not provide a constructive answer to our proposal for a joint survey of the fairway. I would like to recall that Estonia proposed a joint survey of the fairway on the Narva River because the borderline between Estonia and Russia runs along the fairway. In its reply, Russia set the ratification of the border treaty as a precondition for a discussion over the survey of the fairway, which is not relevant or in any way related to the incident organized by Russia on the Narva River in May," Tsahkna said in a statement.
"Russia must not cross the borderline and arbitrarily remove Estonia's border buoys from Estonian waters regardless of the state of the ratification of the border treaty," he added.
The minister said Russia, with the aggression in Ukraine, violates its international obligations, including the UN Charter. He does not think it appropriate to conclude or ratify any agreements with Russia at this time.
"Nevertheless, we consider it important to have a balanced and constructive resolution to the situation arising from the removal of the border buoys, and we consider Estonia's initial proposal for a joint survey on the Narva River justified, in order to determine the precise route of the fairway, which may have changed over decades due to natural conditions," said Tsahkna.
He added that Estonia is closely communicating with its allies and partners and is considering its next steps.
Estonia has placed 250 buoys in the same place, demarking its border, in the River Narva for decades. Russia has recently questioned their placement.
On May 23, the Russian border guard took 25 and has not returned them.
This article was updated to add additional comments from Margus Tsahkna.
--
Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!
Editor: Valner Väino, Helen Wright
