Russian State Duma Deputy Elena Panina called the statements of the Speaker of the Estonian Parliament Henn Põlluaas about the border with Russia inappropriate, noting that in the absence of a border treaty between Russia and Estonia, such statements look like a dangerous factor leading to an aggravation of the international situation.
Earlier, Põlluaas, in his New Year’s address, stated that the Tartu Peace Treaty of 1920, in which “the border between Estonia and Russia was agreed,” is allegedly still in force under international law. In September, Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu stressed that Estonia does not intend to present territorial claims to Russia, but it is difficult to predict when parliament will ratify the 2014 border treaty with the Russian Federation.
Panina told RIA Novosti that the statements of the Estonian politician have already turned into a kind of “New Year’s ritual” and at first glance look comical. “However, the fact that Russia and Estonia still do not have a border treaty makes any jokes inappropriate. Especially considering the topic of a hypothetical military conflict in the Baltic States and“ Russian aggression ”that the alliance supposedly owes “to protect” Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, “said Panina.
Against this background, as the MP stressed, territorial claims against Russia are becoming an extremely dangerous factor leading to an aggravation of the international situation. “This can be used by influential forces in the West, who see the Baltic states as an instrument of pressure on Russia. In this case, the Baltic countries, in particular Estonia, may find themselves in the epicenter of global confrontation,” the parliamentarian said.
There is no legal border between Estonia and Russia. The treaties between Russia and Estonia on the Russian-Estonian state border and on the delimitation of sea spaces in the Narva and the Gulfs of Finland were signed in 2014 by the foreign ministers of neighboring countries. These documents must be ratified by the parliaments of both states.
The Tartu Peace Treaty was concluded on February 2, 1920 after the end of hostilities. At that time, Estonia fought against the German Landswehr militia of Baltic-born Germans and former soldiers and officers of the German army that had already surrendered in World War I, as well as with units of the Red Army. According to the Peace of Tartu, Soviet Russia became the first state in the world to recognize the independence of Estonia, and a state border line was also established between the two countries. Under the agreement, a part of the Pskov province (the so-called Pechora region, now the Pechora district of the Pskov region of the Russian Federation), the territory on the right bank of the Narova River (Narva) (now the territory in the Leningrad region of the Russian Federation) went to Estonia. In 1944, these territories were returned to the RSFSR.