The course of the borderline is not being discussed at the restarted border talks between Estonia and Russia, the talks being based on the borderline confirmed by Riigikogu in 2005, announced Minister of Foreign Affairs Urmas Paet yesterday, in answer to a written question by Riigikogu member Juku-Kalle Raid regarding the border talks.
The Estonian-Russian state border and sea boundaries treaty, signed on May 18th 2005, in Moscow, prescribed the borderline in details. The treaties with maps have been published in Riigi Teataja (State Gazette). The treaty was not ratified by Russia; this, however, doesn’t mean that the borderline should be discussed anew.
The current consultations have been limited to formulating the treaty acceptably to both sides, so that Estonia would not feel offended when it comes to its legal continuity, Russia being provided the confirmation of Estonia not claiming territory from its neighbour.
Had the 2005 treaty entered into force, it would, among other things, have meant that Estonia and Russia exchange a certain amount of plots at the edge of Põlva and Võru Counties. The most significant change would have meant the so-called Saatse strip (boot) in Põlva County, where a ca 1 km section of Estonian Saatse-Värska road is located on Russian territory, which needs to be passed by vehicles without any stops.
As the 2005 treaty never entered into force, the agreed changes were not performed.
According to Tõnu Raid, senior specialist of Police and Border Guard Board’s border security office, the borderline currently guarded is exactly how it was at the end of the Soviet era.
«The control line currently guarded, between Republic of Estonia and Russian federation, does not differ from the administrative border between Estonian SSR and Russian SFSR in force on August 20th 1991,» affirmed Mr Raid.
Tõnu Raid is a well known cartography specialist, formerly participating in Estonian-Russian border talks. Parliament (Riigikogu) member Juku-Kalle Raid (son of Tõnu Raid) claimed, in his question proposed to Minister of Foreign Affairs, on April 24th: «Regrettably, Estonia has handed over, to Russia, a part of the Narva reservoir and almost 1,000 kilometres of sea in Narva Bay. When and where has the political decision been taken, in Estonia, regarding such concessions of territory?» asked the Parliament member belonging to the IRL fraction.
Juku-Kalle Raid did not specify, in his question, when and compared to which situation the concession he was referring to had taken place. However, he stated that the border talks should be based on the administrative borderline between Estonian SSR and Russian SFSR.
Talking to Postimees, the Parliament member also explained that the ESSR-RSFSR borderline run along the Narva River shipping line until 1950, when the Narva reservoir was created. «Now, however, they want to draw an arbitrary line between Republic of Estonia and Russian Federation, irrespective of the shipping line.»
According to him, the one metre deep Narva reservoir halts, on Estonia’s side, all traffic from Lake Peipsi to Narva. «Should the Estonian Border Guard desire to patrol our part in rowing boats, then so be it, of course,» said Mr Raid.
Foreign minister Urmas Paet replied that the agreed border does indeed run along that very shipping line in Narva River and Narva reservoir. The exact location of the shipping line will be determined by a joint Estonian-Russian border committee, which will set to work after the treaties enter into force.
According to Mr Paet, Estonia has not and will not make changes in the borderline as compared to the border treaty agreed in 2005 and ratified in Riigikogu.
Mr Paet said it was incorrect to claim that Estonia had conceded about a thousand of square kilometres of sea territory, as, prior to 2005, Estonia and Russia had never agreed upon sea boundaries.