Estonia’s Foreign Ministry summoned Russia’s charge d’affaires, Lenar Salimullin, to address over a border dispute in the Narva River, reported Estonian outlet EER on October 29.
In May, Estonian officials reported that Russian border guards removed 25 navigation buoys from the Narva River, which runs from Lake Peipsi (Lake Chudskoye in Russia) northward to the Baltic Sea.
Estonian authorities called the incident a “clear provocation” and issued a formal protest note.
Estonia’s protest statement states that the two nations had long upheld an agreement on the buoys' placement, marking a temporary control line that ensures safe navigation along the river.
“Both sides have for decades agreed on the current course of the buoys and, therefore, on the location of the temporary control line between Estonia and Russia,” the Foreign Ministry said.
Efforts to resolve the dispute have stalled.
Estonia proposed a joint survey of the river in August to reach a consensus, but Moscow declined it.
The Estonian Foreign Ministry emphasized that, given Russia’s refusal to adjust the riverbed for fairway clarification, the current fairway course will rely on established knowledge and long-standing practices.
“For decades, both sides have recognized the current fairway course and, by extension, the temporary control line between Estonia and Russia. This agreement has facilitated the establishment of clear and safe traffic zones for all vessels on the Narva River,” the ministry stated in its note.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Estonia accused Moscow of undermining established navigation boundaries and contesting floating markers that prevent vessels from crossing into foreign waters.
Earlier, Estonia held civil defense exercises in response to a potential russian threats.
-21d0b63c17f6020e4df75f6c6f9a2f4f.jpg "Ivan Khomenko")
