TALLINN. April 12 (Interfax) - Estonian Foreign Minister Eva-Maria Liimets told Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at a meeting on Friday that their countries should continue consultations on a border treaty, the press service for the Estonian Foreign Ministry said.
"Estonia and Russia are neighbors, and neighbors need to talk. Despite the fact that we have disagreements and our views on many issues differ. In our phone call, I raised the ratification of the border treaty signed by our countries in 2014 as an important bilateral topic, with the current Estonian government having announced its readiness to move forward on this issue," Liimets was quoted by the press service as saying.
"A border treaty that has entered into force would provide crucial security for Estonia and our allies. This concerns both our security, as well as the fight against organized crime, drugs and smuggling, and human trafficking. We agreed we must continue consultations," she said.
The treaty was signed in Moscow in 2005 after more than a decade of negotiations. However, during its ratification, the Estonian side put into the preamble a reference to the validity of the 1920 Treaty of Tartu, which drew the prewar border. Russia, which sees the treaty as a merely historical document which has no legal force, saw this move as an attempt to reserve a future right to territorial claims and revoked its signature. In 2014, the countries signed another treaty, which has still not been ratified.
"Several agreements that are important for Estonia and Russia are still under preparation, and we should make progress with them, as well. These include agreements on road transport, amending our cooperation on pension insurance, the agreement on the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income and capital, and railway agreements also need to be changed," Liimets said.
The two ministers agreed that border cooperation has been successful, the ministry said.
"Planning and providing input for the new programming period (2021-2027) of cross-border cooperation offers a good opportunity. With this in mind, I proposed boosting environmental and climate cooperation," Liimets said.
In international relations, it is important for Estonia to uphold international law, including respect for territorial integrity and human rights, she said.
"I voiced serious concern to my Russian colleague over the military escalation in and around Ukraine. It is important for Russia to meet its international commitments and make efforts to resolve the situation peacefully," Liimets said.
She also told Lavrov about Estonia's petition for observer status in the Artic Council, "where [Estonia] aims to advance scientific cooperation between the countries and contribute to the sustainable development of the Arctic."
The last time the two countries' foreign ministers met was in 2015.