Migrants sent by Russia will not be allowed on Estonian soil, but will be stopped at the border line, Interior Minister Lauri Läänemets told .
TALLINN The events on Finland’s eastern border have been repeated on the Estonian border only on a small scale. During the last seven days, a total of 30 people have tried to reach Estonia.
19 of them tried to cross the border on Thursday of last week and eleven on Monday of this week. The Police and Border Agency turned everyone over. It has been quiet at the border since then.
In Finland, the Estonian authorities’ claims that none of the arrivals applied for asylum have been surprised. In Finland, people who have cycled to border crossings have applied for asylum in large numbers.
Estonian Minister of the Interior Lauri Läänemetsin according to the explanation lies in the different practices of the Finnish and Estonian border authorities.
– In Finland they can reach the border crossing, but in Estonia they are stopped at the national border. So they can’t get to Estonian soil, Läänemets told by phone.
Border director: the elderly and children would not be left to freeze
Stopping newcomers at the border line is easy in Estonia, as entry attempts are concentrated in the northeastern Estonian city of Narva.
In Narva, the border between Estonia and Russia runs along a hundred meter wide river. The border line intersects the bridge over the Narvajoki.
The border authorities follow the overall assessment on the bridge, the Border Director of the Police and Border Agency PPA Veiko Kommusaar told in a telephone interview.
If the newcomers appear to be part of an operation orchestrated by the Russian authorities, they are stopped at the national border so that they cannot even enter Estonia to submit an asylum application. Asylum can only be applied for in the territory of the state.
– We would not leave women, children or the elderly to freeze at the border for humanitarian reasons, Kommusaar stated.
However, Estonia does not credibly consider those who have been turned away from the border to be in need. PPA’s CEO Egert Belichev according to which they have stayed in Russia completely legally.
If Finland’s decision creates pressure, Estonia is ready to close its borders
So far, Estonia has not decided to close the border crossing points on its eastern border, because the situation is not considered serious enough.
– If Finland’s decision to close the majority of its border crossing points puts more pressure on the Estonian border, we will reconsider the situation, Interior Minister Läänemets said at the government’s press conference on Thursday.
According to Läänemets and Kommusaar, PPA is ready to close the borders quickly if necessary. Among other things, it has stocked concrete barriers and barbed wire at border crossings.
– However, we are not going to close the border just for the sake of closing it, Läänemets stated.