The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Estonia is preparing a draft document on seizing weapons from Russian citizens. According to Interior Minister Laurie Laanemets, the proposals should reach the government within a few weeks.
ERR writes about it.
"We are engaged in legal preparation and analysis in the ministry, we are in the final phase. We are starting to write proposals and within the next few weeks we intend to present them to the government for discussion," Laanemets told reporters.
According to the project, the Department of Police and Border Protection will begin collecting the weapons at the end of this year or in early 2023. The process will last at least a year.
According to the minister, it is assumed that most of the owners of weapons will voluntarily surrender them to the police or sell them.
"Of course, we prefer the version where people do it themselves and sell their guns within a certain period," Laanemets noted.
The Estonian arms market is quite small. So, according to the minister, this may lead to the fact that at one point a large number of weapons will be put up for sale, which will be impossible to sell at once. Therefore, it will be necessary to store weapons in the police, and this is an additional expense for law enforcement officers.
Journalists asked Laura Laanemets how many of the 621 Russian citizens who own weapons and live in Estonia could pose a real threat to the countryʼs security.
"These people are famous, but I will not name these numbers. Rather, we are talking about small numbers. They are being dealt with," the minister replied.
He did not say how many additional resources the entire process would require.
"We are reducing the number of people who can own weapons in Estonia. Ideally, the goal: to own a gun in Estonia, one must be an Estonian citizen. This kind of positive motivational logic could work for us. If someone wants to own a gun in Estonia, for example for sport or hunting, then we are happy to provide an exam and you can apply for Estonian citizenship," said Laanemets.