TALLINN (dpa-AFX) – According to the Estonian Foreign Ministry, three Russian border guards illegally crossed the border into the neighboring EU and NATO country Estonia. Accordingly, the officers are said to have illegally crossed the control line on a breakwater in the border river Narva near the town of Vasknarva, where they arrived in a hovercraft and walked along. They then returned to their vehicle and to the Russian side. The ministry in Tallinn released a video captured by a surveillance system that appears to document the incident on Wednesday morning.
According to Estonia’s Interior Minister Igor Taro, it is unclear what the Russian border guards’ motives were and why they crossed the Line of Control. “There was no immediate security threat, but the police and border guards have significantly increased their presence and patrols,” he said on Estonian television. According to media reports, the Russian border guards were said to have been on Estonian territory for around twenty minutes. There was no prior notification.
Estonia summoned the charge d’affaires of the Russian embassy in Tallinn about the incident and handed over a diplomatic note. “We have increased surveillance in the region and are ready to respond,” Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said. He added that the best response to Russia’s testing of borders is to continue to support Ukraine and increase political and economic pressure on Russia.
Representatives of the Estonian and Russian border guards met on the Russian side. According to Estonian information, the Russian side refused to recognize the illegal border crossing and was not prepared to provide further data or its own arguments. Estonia now wants to submit a proposal for another meeting./awe/DP/stw