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Estonian gov't passes border treaty with Russia

24 May 2013 02:46 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. The government of Estonia passed a bill for a new border treaty with Russia amid controversy due to criticism within the country, the Estonian Public Broadcasting (ERR) reported on Thursday, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

Estonia and Russia had stopped negotiations on the treaty in 2005, until last year when treaty conditions were renegotiated between the two sides.

The Estonian Foreign Ministry recently announced that bilateral consultations had been successful.

The ministry explained that a new plan would add two clauses to the original document, stipulating that the treaty regulates solely the path of the border, ruling out territorial claims.

However the treaty has opponents within the government.

Estonian Minister of Agriculture Helir-Valdor Seeder criticized the treaty in April, saying that it does not serve Estonia's economic and energy interests.

Martin Helme, head of the Estonian Conservative National Party, said Estonia is "giving everything" while having "nothing in return".

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Urmas Paet has said Estonia seeks to improve relations and security with this treaty, which cannot cover all of the issues mentioned by Seeder.

The bill has to be approved at the Estonian parliament.