The Estonian ministers of defense, foreign affairs and education, speaking at the government press conference on Thursday, described the absence of a border treaty with Russia as a security risk for Estonia and said that signing of the treaty is definitely in Estonia's interest.
Standing in for the prime minister, minister of defense and chairman of the junior coalition party Pro Patria and Res Publica Union (IRL) Urmas Reinsalu said that not having a border treaty is a constant security risk which the conclusion of the treaty helps to eliminate.
Foreign Minister Urmas Paet pointed out that having a legally regulated border with Russia involves a security dimension which should not be underestimated. "Estonia currently is the only European country outside the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) that does not have have a legally established border with Russia," the Reform Party minister said.
Minister of Education and Research Jaak Aaviksoo, from IRL, also said that having a fixed border will be good for Estonia's security.
The Estonian government at its Thursday's meeting approved the bill of the border treaties between Estonia and Russia.
Spokespeople for the government emphasized that the draft regulates exclusively matters related to the national border. In making the decision the government also relied on the stance of the chancellor of justice according to which signing of the border treaty is constitutional and will not affect the legal continuity of the Estonian state.
The government added the draft of the Estonian-Russian border treaty to the agenda of its sitting at the proposal of the foreign minister. The parliamentary foreign affairs committee gave its nod to the bill on May 14.
The treaties will be signed by the foreign ministers of Estonia and Russia and they must be ratified by both parliaments. The treaties will take effect 30 days after the day of the date of the exchange of ratifications, spokespeople for the government added.
Estonia and Russia have held three consultations on the topic of the border treaty since last fall. The current draft of the treaty contains both the clauses desired by Estonia and those desired by Russia.
The foreign affairs committee of the Estonian parliament together with all party groups and non-aligned deputies proposed to the government last October to start consultations with Russia to find a way for concluding a border treaty. It said the proposal is based on the knowledge that Estonia wishes to develop relations respecting each other's sovereignty and legal continuity with all of its neighbors, including Russia.
The proposal was issued after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had said on Sept. 1 that Russia was ready to reopen negotiations with Estonia on concluding a border treaty.
Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet and Lavrov signed treaties on the land and maritime borders between Estonia and Russia in May 2005.
The Estonian parliament ratified the treaties in June of the same year after adding a preamble to the ratification law to say that in ratifying the border treaties the parliament had in mind that in accordance with Article 122 of the Constitution the border treaty would partly change the line of the state border defined in the Tartu Peace Treaty of 1920 but would not affect the rest of the Tartu Peace Treaty and would not define treatment of any bilateral issues not connected with the border treaties.
Russia said it saw the preamble as opening the way to future territorial claims and withdrew its signature at the end of June. Estonia has on repeated occasions denied having territorial claims on Russia.