Estonia Summons Russian Diplomat Over Border River Dispute

Estonia’s Foreign Ministry summoned Russia’s charge d’affaires amid an ongoing border dispute over a shared river, media in the Baltic country reported Tuesday.
In May, Estonian border guards accused their Russian counterparts of removing two dozen navigation buoys from the Narva River, which flows north into the Baltic Sea from Lake Peipsi, or Lake Chudskoye as it is known in Russia. At the time, Estonian authorities called the buoy removal a “clear provocation.”
Estonia’s note of protest issued to Russia’s charge d’affairs, Lenar Salimullin, stated that Moscow had not officially sought to renegotiate the course of the fairway along the Narva 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,” Estonian broadcaster ERR quoted the ministry as saying.
“This has created clear and safe traffic zones for all vessels on the Narva River,” it added. ERR reported that Russian authorities rejected Tallinn’s proposal in August to jointly survey the river in order to settle the border dispute.
Estonia has accused Russia of contesting the placement of floating markers used to prevent boats from straying into foreign waters since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

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