Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip at his meeting on Friday with the head of the Russian government, Dmitry Medvedev, voiced delight at the increasing contacts between the two neighboring countries expressed in trade, tourism and people-to-people connections.
"I am delighted that trade has grown significantly, people-to-people contacts have intensified and the number of Russian tourists visiting Estonia has jumped from year to year," spokespeople quoted Ansip as saying.
The head of the Estonian government observed that dealings between the two nations would be facilitated by visa freedom between the European Union and Russia, but for this certain technical conditions including smooth border crossing have to be met first. Ansip added that the ever increasing number of border crossers sets the countries the task of developing the infrastructure of border checkpoints and improving the organization of border and customs controls. Smooth movement of people and goods across state borders is of essence, he said.
"Normal cooperation between Estonia and Russia at all levels is important to Estonia," Ansip said.
The prime ministers acknowledged that a border treaty too would create good conditions for intensifying cross-border cooperation and developing the border infrastructure. Estonia and Russia are "very close to agreement," they observed.
The one-on-one meeting took place after the Baltic Sea states' summit in St. Petersburg. Ansip thanked Russia for organizing the environmental cooperation-themed meeting.