Border game ended. No losers.

Thus, the Estonian-Russian relations was one of the key issues, which had prevented the normalization of dialogue between Tallinn and Moscow.

negotiations on a border treaty between Estonia and Russia began shortly after the Baltic republics of the Soviet Union in 1991. Initially, the positions of the parties were diametrically opposed. Estonia had insisted on the restoration of the boundary line of the war, some Tartu Peace Treaty of 1920. Russia has agreed to negotiate on the border of legitimizing the Estonian SSR.

Recall that, under the Tartu treaty in the pre-war Estonia was part of the territory of the Pskov and Leningrad regions of Russia, including Ivangorod and Pechora. After incorporation of Estonia into the USSR, 2334 square kilometers of Estonian territory decision of Stalin's leadership had been attached to the RSFSR.

For its part, Russia argued that the Tartu Peace Treaty lost its meaning with the entry of Estonia into the USSR in 1940, therefore, they can not be guided in determining the contemporary Estonian-Russian border. Against this background, an attempt to remember the Estonian militias impose its pogransooruzheniya the former border area in the Russian village Komarovka. And their actions have prevented the Russian police.

continue for a period of several years of negotiations came to a standstill: resistance, based on respect for the Tartu treaty, would continue indefinitely.

For Estonia, the absence of a treaty on the border with the Russian Federation, accepted by both parties, started to have a negative impact on achieving other foreign policy goals - membership in the EU and NATO. Given the situation, who was at that time as prime minister of Estonia Andres Tarand, at the end of 1994, expressed the readiness of Estonia to abandon territorial claims on Russia. As a result, negotiations on the border was able to bring tangible results - the new border treaty between Estonia and the Russian Federation was signed on 5 March 1999.

seemed that the problem resolved, but the conclusion of the contract and did not take place because Russia has decided to combine his signing with the decision of other political issues, in particular the situation of Russians in Estonia. As a result, in 2004, despite the lack of border treaty with Russia, Estonia joined the EU and NATO. In 2004, the signing of the border treaty with Estonia has been more interested in Russia itself, because of the demand from the European Union as a condition for entry into the future of bilateral visa-free regime. Late last year, Vladimir Putin personally promised the European Commission to sign a border treaty with Estonia in the near future. " For its part, Estonia has also continued to show interest in signing the treaty because it largely depended its inclusion in the Schengen area, as well as grants for the construction of the European borders and the development of border areas.

decision on signing a border treaty dalos the Estonian government is not easy. The authorities of the republic is constantly subjected to pressure from the influential nationalist forces, calling the forthcoming signing of the border treaty on the basis of the borders of Estonian SSR "betrayal of national interests." Against the signing of border agreements were made and the culture of the country. Despite these constraints, the current Government of Estonia does taken the decision to sign the treaty. At present, the Russian side, an additional incentive to sign the treaty with Estonia became aggravated the dispute on the border with neighboring Latvia. Riga, in response to Moscow's proposal to sign a treaty on the border on May 10 formally put forward territorial claims to Russia, as a result of which Russia was forced to abandon the agreement with Latvia. In this regard, Russia has decided to use the signing of an agreement on the Estonian-Russian border as a means to a certain pressure on Latvia.

Under the agreement, the border of Estonia will be almost completely coincide with the administrative border of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic.

Only in some places, the parties will produce an equivalent exchange of territories in the interests of local residents. Total Russia and Estonia would give way to each other on 128.6 hectares of land and 11.4 sq. km. km of the lake. At lakes Russia on equal terms with Estonia have the right to enjoy their own half the fairway, and get out of Peipsi to the River Narva. Estonia, in accordance with their economic interests gets important in terms of fishing lakes in the area of the island Piyrisaar. Installed land border treaty solves the problem of a narrow strip of border territory, which marks the Estonian highway, which is a figure known as "Saatseskogo sapozhka. At the same time, part of Estonian territory under a contract of Russia - Forest put "Marinova" area of 68.9 hectares in the south from "Saatseskogo sapozhka in the township Meremäe, and 33.9 hectares Suursoo on the outskirts of the township Värska.

According to many Estonian experts, signed the border treaty could be a starting point for improving the relations of Estonia and Russia.

first sign of emerging progress in relations can be regarded as the abolition - immediately after the consent of Estonia without any additional conditions to sign a border treaty - a ban on the import of Estonian plant products to Russia. At the same time, Estonia was eliminated commission to counter the Russian propaganda in recent history. Apparently, as a result of solutions to border problems can be attributed, and Estonian President Arnold Rüütel to resume the work of the Estonian-Russian intergovernmental commission.