Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Estonia will not renounce preamble to bill on ratification of border treaty with Russia
Estonia will not renounce preamble to the bill on ratification of the sea and land border treaty with Russia. As REGNUM informs, Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet made such statement to Eesti Paevaleht newspaper today, on January 9. According to him, the question of the border with Russia was not subjected to any change, and no change is expected in the near future either.
In his turn, Chair of the Riigikogu (Estonian parliament) Foreign Affairs Committee Enn Eesmaa called “unusual” Moscow’s decision to withdraw its signature from the treaty. Meanwhile, Paet noted that Estonia in this situation can only remind Russia from time to time about Estonia and European Union’s position on the border treaty issue without exerting significant pressure upon the neighbor country.
At the same time, as the newspaper says, the neighboring Latvia is allegedly ready to renounce its one-sidedly introduced declaration to the Russian-Latvian border treaty, in accordance with which the Latvian side could pretend for Pytalovo District in Russia’s Pskov Region, which, in the newspaper’s opinion, can result in signing the Russia-Latvia border treaty.
The border treaties were signed by Russian and Estonian foreign ministers on May 18, 2005. While ratifying the border treaties, the Estonian parliament enclosed a preamble into the border treaty that referred to the Tartu Peace Treaty of 1920. The amendment, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry, can become a ground for territorial claims to the Russian Federation.
In his turn, Chair of the Riigikogu (Estonian parliament) Foreign Affairs Committee Enn Eesmaa called “unusual” Moscow’s decision to withdraw its signature from the treaty. Meanwhile, Paet noted that Estonia in this situation can only remind Russia from time to time about Estonia and European Union’s position on the border treaty issue without exerting significant pressure upon the neighbor country.
At the same time, as the newspaper says, the neighboring Latvia is allegedly ready to renounce its one-sidedly introduced declaration to the Russian-Latvian border treaty, in accordance with which the Latvian side could pretend for Pytalovo District in Russia’s Pskov Region, which, in the newspaper’s opinion, can result in signing the Russia-Latvia border treaty.
The border treaties were signed by Russian and Estonian foreign ministers on May 18, 2005. While ratifying the border treaties, the Estonian parliament enclosed a preamble into the border treaty that referred to the Tartu Peace Treaty of 1920. The amendment, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry, can become a ground for territorial claims to the Russian Federation.
