The situation is getting worse between Estonia and Russia. The Estonian coast guard said Thursday that its Russian counterparts removed buoys placed on the Narva River, which separates the two countries, overnight in a border dispute.
Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas spoke of a “ border incident”, while Lithuania and other countries in the region have tense relations with Russia due to its invasion of Ukraine. According to Tallinn, only since the start of the war in Ukraine in February 2022 has Moscow disputed the location of floating beacons, which are used to prevent boats from accidentally straying into foreign waters.
“This year, Russia has said it disputes the location of about half of the planned buoys,” say the Estonian Coast Guard in a press release. “ At 3 a.m. we saw the Russian coast guard moving buoys », they add.
According to Kaja Kallas, Estonia has contacted Russia to obtain information on this matter. “ This is a border incident, the precise circumstances of which we are in the process of clarifying “, she told reporters. “ Russia is increasing incidents at its borders to arouse fear and anxiety, in order to sow insecurity in our societies. We see a general trend in this area “, she added.
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An “unacceptable” situation
A situation viewed very negatively by the European Union. Russia’s withdrawal of buoys demarcating its border with Russia on a river‘Estonia is “ unacceptable », declared the head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell on Friday.
“ Such actions are unacceptable. The European Union is awaiting explanations from Russia after the removal of these buoys and their immediate replacement “, he added in a press release.
“ Russia has increased its provocations (…) Full solidarity in the face of these unacceptable aggressive actions “, reacted for his part Stéphane Séjourné in a message posted on X. “ We are closely monitoring the situation alongside our allies, who are acting calmly and calmly “, he added.
Extend its territorial waters
Especially since this incident follows another border dispute that occurred in the region and involving Russia. On Wednesday, fellow Baltic country Lithuania said it had summoned a Russian diplomatic adviser over plans to unilaterally extend Russia’s maritime border into Lithuanian and Finnish waters, warning it could be a war tactic hybrid.
According to a draft resolution from the Russian Defense Ministry published on Tuesday, Moscow plans to expand its territorial waters from January 2025, by changing its border in the Baltic Sea with Finland and Lithuania.
This new border would allow Moscow to declare the Finnish and Lithuanian maritime zones Russian. Russia’s borders in the Kaliningrad region and the Gulf of Finland would also be changed, according to the document.
(With AFP)
