Estonia extends nighttime closure of border crossing with Russia

Alsharq Tribune-Ahmed Essam 

The Estonian government on Thursday decided to extend nighttime closure at two road border crossing points with Russia in southeastern Estonia for another three months, while also shortening the opening hours of the Narva-1 border crossing point.

Under the decision, the Koidula and Luhamaa road border crossing points on the Estonian-Russian border will continue operating only from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time until Aug. 31. The move extended a temporary change first introduced by the government in February.

Meanwhile, the Narva-1 pedestrian border crossing point, near the Russian city of St. Petersburg, will adopt the same operating hours starting June 15, reduced from its previous schedule of 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Interior Minister Igor Taro said at a press conference that the border control measures introduced three months ago had proved appropriate and should remain in place.

Since February, the number of border crossings at Luhamaa has fallen by nearly 20 percent, while crossings at Koidula have increased by 6 percent.

The Narva-1 border crossing point is effectively the only major pedestrian crossing near St. Petersburg, located about 155 km away. It is used mainly by residents of various European countries, primarily Finland, after Finland closed its border crossing points with Russia in late November 2023.