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Baltic border rows unsettled Russia's neighbours
Summary
A look back at how border markers on the Narva River and a proposed maritime adjustment drew protests in the days around 24 May 2024.
What did it mean when Russia's neighbours saw its borders shifting on paper and on the water? By 24 May 2024, two separate episodes had drawn concern across the Baltic region.
On 22 May 2024, the Russian Ministry of Defence proposed unilaterally adjusting Russia's maritime border in the Baltic Sea. Baltic members of NATO, including Finland and Lithuania, commented with concern. The ministry later retracted the proposal.
On 23 May 2024, Russia removed the border markers signalling the frontier with Estonia on the Narva River. The European Union protested.
Two episodes, one region
The two developments were distinct: one was a proposal that was withdrawn, the other a physical removal of markers along a river boundary. Both, however, involved Russia's borders with states that sit on the Baltic and belong to NATO or the EU, and both prompted public reactions from those neighbours and from Brussels.
As of 24 May 2024, the maritime proposal had been retracted, while the EU's protest over the Narva markers had been made.
