Russian govt committee approves bill of border treaty with Estonia

Photo: AFP / ITAR-Tass / Scanpix

The legislation committee of the Russian government approved the bill submitted by the country's Foreign Ministry regarding the border treaty between Estonia and Russia which among other things determines the border's location in the Bay of Narva and the Gulf of Finland.

Now the bill will be discussed at a government meeting but the deadline for that has not been determined yet, information portal of the Russian government said on Wednesday.

Estonia's former foreign minister Urmas Paet and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov signed the treaties on the land and maritime borders between the two countries in Moscow on Feb. 18, 2014. President Toomas Hendrik Ilves welcomed the signing on the same day saying the treaties correspond to the letter and spirit of the Estonian Constitution and will not affect the legal continuity of the Republic of Estonia.

Ratification of the treaties began in the Estonian parliament in the middle of last April as the bill passed the first reading in the Riigikogu. Further ratification process depends on the speed and course of Russia's ratification of the bill. The third reading of the bill would take place in the Estonian parliament only when the Russian parliament has reached the same point.