Finland keeping an eye on the situation regarding removal of buoys from Narva River

HELSINKI – Finland is closely monitoring the situation after the removal of light buoys by Russia on Narva River, Finland's Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen wrote on the messaging app X on Friday.

The minister described the action by Russia in the border river as yet another unfriendly act that is aimed at creating confusion, and expressed solidarity with Estonia.

The Russian border guard on Thursday night removed from Narva River 24 buoys placed in Estonian waters to mark the fairway.

Eerik Purgel, the head of the border and migration control service at the East Prefecture of the Police and Border Guard Board, said that every spring, Estonia and Russia install buoys in Narva River that mark the fairway.

"While the temporary line of control is permanently marked along the land border, the river bed changes over time, which is why we review the fairway markings every spring. While before the start of the war in Ukraine, the installation of buoys was largely by mutual agreement, since last year, Russia does not agree with Estonia's position regarding the placement of buoys," Purgel said.

This year, Russia announced that it does not agree with the locations of about half of the planned 250 floating markers