Russian govt brings forward Estonia-Russia border accords for ratification

Photo: AFP / ITAR-Tass / Scanpix

The Russian government on March 5 forwarded the agreements on the land and sea border between Estonia and Russia to President Vladimir Putin, who will put them before the parliament for ratification.

Estonian Foreign Minister Keit Pentus-Rosimannus described the Russian step as necessary for the ratification of the border treaties to move forward, spokespeople for the Estonian Foreign Ministry said. The minister added that for the border treaties to be ratified a process consisting of several stages stands ahead whose completion requires real decisions. Pentus-Rosimannus said moving forward with the ratification of the border treaties and their enactment was in the interest of both parties to the agreements.

MEP Urmas Paet, who was foreign minister of Estonia when the treaties were signed, said the decision of the Russian government to forward the treaties on the Estonian-Russian border for ratification was an important decision. "Enactment of the treaties will be a step toward strengthening the security of Estonia, because the fewer big questions we have open with Russia, the better. The topic of the national border clearly is one such question. Hopefully the process of ratification will not take long in the Russian parliament," Paet said.

Estonia's then former Foreign Minister Urmas Paet and Lavrov signed the treaties on the land and maritime borders between the two countries in Moscow on Feb. 18, 2014.

The bill on the ratification of the border treaties passed its first reading in the Estonian parliament in April. The parliament will now look at Russian moves before moving on to the next stage and the final vote on the ratification bill will be taken in the Estonian parliament when the parliament of Russia has advanced to the same point.

The treaties will step into effect 30 days after the exchange of ratification letters.