TALLINN - Russia's State Duma, the lower house of Parliament, could add its own preamble to a border treaty with Estonia in the ratification process, Estonia's ambassador to Finland was reported as saying. The Finnish paper Kaleva quoted Ambassador Priit Kolbre as saying that the Russian Duma might add its own preamble to the border treaties in a tit-for-tat move after the Riigikogu (Estonia's parliament) added one to ensure the pact's conformity with the Estonian Constitution.
Commenting on Moscow's claims that the Estonian preamble would allow the Baltic state to put forth territorial claims against Russia in the future, Kolbre said this was "totally wrong."
In his view, the accusations are prompted by Russia's domestic political problems.
It is impossible to forget the past and start from a blank page in relations between the two countries, Kolbre remarked. "The Molotov-Ribbentrop pact can be resurrected. Great powers make decisions without showing interest in how small countries are faring," Kolbre said in reference to the Russian-German natural gas pipeline that is being built and will link Europe's two largest countries.
In his words, the pipeline is a question of economics for Germany but one of politics for Moscow. Germany has noted the political significance of the pipeline but pays no attention to it, the ambassador said.
Before accession to NATO and the European Union, Estonian statements concerning Russia were even more sharply worded. Now, however, as a member of the two alliances, Estonia is more conscious of its responsibilities, Kolbre observed.
Russia, whose aircraft frequently violate the Baltic states' airspace, is in this way putting their patience to the test, the Finnish paper wrote.
According to Kolbre, NATO is not letting Moscow provoke it with such small things. He added that Russia's aim could be to test the alliance's ever-increasing capability to protect the Baltic skies.
The Estonian-Russian border treaties were inked on May 18, 2005 and ratified by the Riigikogu on June 20 of the same year. Russia announced on June 27 it was retracting its signature because of the preamble Estonian lawmakers added to the ratification act.
