Ratification of the border treaty with Moscow is possible only in the absence of any territorial claims against the Russian Federation from Tallinn and the cessation of any pressure on the Russians in Estonia.
Official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova stated this at a briefing, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“Russia-Estonia. In this country, internal political discussions continue on the ratification of the border treaty with our country. As is known, these documents were first signed by the heads of the Russian and Estonian Foreign Ministries in 2005. However, the Russian Federation’s signature had to be revoked due to the inclusion in the Estonian ratification law of unacceptable references to now defunct documents, including the Tartu Peace Treaty of 1920,” Zakharova said.
She also recalled that after re-signing in 2014, the entry into force of the agreement was again thwarted by Tallinn.
“We would consider it appropriate to once again confirm Russia’s principled position on this issue, which we outline publicly and in contacts with the Estonian side. Ratification of border treaties is possible only after clear guarantees from the Estonian government about the renunciation of any territorial claims to the Russian Federation and certain political makeweights.
In addition, we expect practical steps from Tallinn to normalize the general atmosphere of bilateral relations. This is a solution to the problem of mass “statelessness”, an end to the policy of squeezing the Russian language out of the educational and information space, persecution of Russian-language media and journalists, human rights activists, as well as anti-Russian rhetoric, including at the international level,” the Foreign Ministry representative emphasized.