MOSCOW, August 18 (RIA Novosti) - Estonia will introduce temporary border controls for US President Barack Obama's visit to Tallinn, Estonian Interior Ministry head Hanno Pevkur said Monday.
“We will inform the public where the border crossing rules will be changed as soon as we can,” Pevkur told Estonia’s Postimees newspaper, adding that the ministry will decide when the new rules will be introduced on Thursday.
Controls are to be implemented at airports and ports. Simplified checks are also to go into effect at the Latvian border that require travelers to show their documents to enter the country. EU citizens are free to travel within the Schengen area using any form of personal ID, while visitors from outside the European Union are to be required to show their passports.
Obama is scheduled to arrive in Tallinn on September 3, where he is to meet his Estonian counterpart Toomas Hendrik Ilves, Prime Minister Taavi Rõivas and members of the Estonian parliament. The US president is also slated to attend a joint meeting with the heads of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, at which the presidents are to discuss regional security issues.
Obama has also scheduled a public lecture in Tallin before leaving the Estonian capital for Wales to attend a NATO summit on September 4-5.
