Russia’s removal of boundary buoys from a river along its border with Estonia on Thursday is “unacceptable,” said the European Union’s (EU) Foreign Affairs Chief, Josep Borrell on Friday.
“These actions are unacceptable. The EU expects clarification from Russia following this buoy removal and their immediate reinstatement,” Borrell added in a statement.
Estonian coastguards reported on Thursday that their Russian counterparts had removed buoys from the Narva River, which divides the two countries, in the context of a border dispute.
Estonia’s Prime Minister, Kaja Kallas, referred to the event as a “border incident”, while Lithuania and other regional countries maintain tense relations with Russia due to its invasion of Ukraine.
According to Tallinn, it has only been since the start of the war in Ukraine in February 2022 that Moscow has contested the location of these floating markers, which are used to prevent ships from accidentally straying into foreign waters.