“The Police and Border Guard Board ensures that Estonia’s response to this will be immediate and decisive,” he said.
In recent weeks, several groups of illegal migrants have tried to enter the European Union through the Estonian border town of Narva in the northeast.
“The Russian border service, which completely controls the situation in its border zone, allowing third-country nationals to cross the border with Estonia without the necessary travel documents, gives the impression that a coordinated and deliberate attack is being carried out against the European Union,” said A. Karis.
“We recently saw the same pattern in Finland, and earlier against Poland, Lithuania and Latvia on the border of Belarus, where migrants were also used for hybrid attacks,” he said.
“I want everyone who checks the strength of the external border of the European Union and NATO in Estonia to understand that this border is strong, we control it and we will not allow migratory pressure to be used against us. If the Russian authorities are sending groups of migrants to our border, I feel sorry for these people, because they are simply being exploited, but they will not be allowed to enter the European Union in this way,” the president added.
According to Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, the situation on the Estonian-Russian border remains stable.
According to the Prime Minister, the police sent 30 persons from Africa and the Middle East back to Russia from the border, who had no reason to stay in Estonia or enter the country.
“There is already a large movement of migration flows towards the Finnish borders. In the case of Estonia, we are currently talking about a migration attack of low intensity. Under normal circumstances, Russia would not allow such people to cross its border,” K. Kallas said during a press conference on Thursday.
She also assured that Russia’s actions are not surprising and Estonia is ready for them.
“We are monitoring the situation at the border with increased attention and are ready for more pressure at the border,” the Prime Minister emphasized.
The Police and Border Protection Board, together with partners including the voluntary national defense organization Kaitseliit, is familiar with possible risk and threat scenarios, has the necessary equipment and plans to respond to migration flows and attacks.
In addition, Estonia has practical experience from previous support missions in Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. Western countries accuse Russia’s close ally Belarus that, in retaliation for EU sanctions, it started pushing tens of thousands of undocumented migrants across its border to Lithuania, Latvia and Poland in 2021.
The European Union’s border and coast guard agency, Frontex, said it was ready to help Estonia with its rapid response units if the situation escalated.
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2024-09-04 00:46:21
