Estonia’s government today approved new regulations that will allow it to build a fence along a 90km section of its land border with Russia.
In a statement posted on the Estonian Interior Ministry website, the government will update Estonia’s border security infrastructure with “a modern electronic security system, which serves to detect illegal border crossings and cross-border crime, and increases national security.”Estonia’s Minister of the Interior Hanno Pevkur said that the government will “set up a 2.5 metre high fence along ca 90 km section of the altogether 135 km land border. The border strip will also have an at least two meter wide patrol path … with additionally installed animal barriers, turnpikes, border posts, caution signs and illumination.”
Pevkur stressed that Estonia is committed to creating a modern to help protect “the external border for Europe and the NATO.”
According to the Interior Ministry the border upgrades will be carried out through 2016–2019 at a cost of more than 70 million euros, however, the internal security budget of 2016 allocates only 22 million euros towards the development of the new border.
The Latvian government announced a decision to build a similar fence earlier in March.
Russian propaganda channel RT has criticized the move reporting that the “country decides to cut itself off from Russia.” However, the Putin regime already imposed a broad ban on imports back in August 2014, which cuts Russians off from any imported dairy, fish, meat, fruits and vegetables from Europe and Estonia.
