The Narva River and the Narva Reservoir, through which it runs, mark the northeastern border between Estonia and the EU, and the Russian Federation, and buoys are used in the warmer months to mark the line.

However, last year, Russian authorities unilaterally removed some of Estonia's border buoys.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, earlier this week, stated in a diplomatic note sent to Russia that Estonia wants to resolve the issue of buoy installation constructively, and border representatives are seeking a practical solution to the problem with their Russian counterparts.

There is no publicly known date on when the buoys, set up with the spring thaw, will be reinstalled or the fate of those buoys which Russia confiscated.

Eerik Purgel, head of the Eastern Prefecture's border guard office, said: "At the moment, communication is moving down from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the level of border representatives. Those border representatives will meet, discuss the issue, but right now, it is very difficult to predict the exact date when we will be able to place the buoys in the water. First and foremost, we aim to reach an agreement."

Purgel added that Estonia's position has always been clear: A fairway runs along the length of the Narva River, which flows south-north from Peipsi järv (Lake Peipus) to the sea, while the buoys should be placed in the middle of this fairway, he said.

The rationale for this is that this location is where the navigable shipping lane lies.

Purgel added: "That is the goal which we are going into the meeting with, but the details will only become clear during the meeting, depending on what arguments the Russian side wants to present. We can all simply point to a map and draw some lines, but in real life, we need to reach an agreement. And that is what we are going to achieve; or not achieve – that too would be an 'agreement,' then we can decide whether we place the buoys whatsoever, where we place them, and in what way."

The buoys are usually installed at the beginning of May. After last year's incident, Russia claimed the markers were on the Russian side of the river, a claim Estonia refutes.

The time and place of the border representatives' meeting have not yet been agreed on.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned a representative of the Russian embassy on Thursday to demand the return of border buoys illegally removed from the Narva River on the eastern border 10 months ago.

Two dozen of the floating buoys were taken from the river on May 23, 2024, by Russian border guards; Estonia's foreign ministry has issued several diplomatic notes on the matter since then.

The latest note stated Estonia has made various proposals for constructive cooperation, which Russia has rejected, and reiterated a call for the return of the seized property.

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