Estonia and Russia were set Wednesday to sign in Moscow a border treaty, ending nearly a decade of negotiations and delays in fixing the what is now part of the European Union's eastern frontier.

The signature of the treaty and its eventual ratification by the parliaments of the two countries is essential for Russia and EU to break a deadlock on easing visa rules and stepping up the fight against illegal immigration.

Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet agreed to travel to Moscow to sign the treaty with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov after the Kremlin issued the invitation at the beginning of the month.

The treaty, which has been in ready since 1996 with Russia refusing to sign it, will demarcate the border between Russia and Estonia, part of the easternmost frontier of the EU, which Estonia joined last year.

"We hope the signing will help make relations between Estonia and Russia more constructive," Paet said on the eve of his visit to Moscow.

"This is also a milestone in the development of a strategic partnership between the EU and Russia."

Russia was widely seen as holding back on signing border treaties with Estonia and neighboring Latvia to frustrate their efforts to join the EU and NATO, and as leverage with Tallinn and Riga to improve conditions for the sizeable Russian-speaking communities in the two Baltic states.

But Moscow now finds that the lack of border treaties blocks progress on easing EU visa restrictions for Russians. The EU has linked an accord to ease visa rules to agreement on the readmission of illegal immigrants, for which reaching border deals is prerequisite.

Russia ratified a border agreement with the third Baltic state Lithuania, which has a considerably smaller Russian community, in 2003.

Paet said settling the border issue with Russia "is significant not only for Estonia but also for the EU and NATO."

"What we are going to fix is the external border of both these international organisations," Paet said.

With just minor adjustments, the land and sea border between Estonia and Russia will largely follow the current administrative border, set down during the Soviet occupation of Estonia.

Under the treaty, Estonia cedes to Russia five percent of territory which belonged to the Baltic state before it was first occupied by the Soviet Union in 1940.

Five decades of almost continuous Soviet occupation of the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania ended in 1991.

Following the signing of the border treaty, some 20 bilateral agreements on economic cooperation are expected to be concluded between Estonia and Russia, all of which have been stalled because the treaty had not been signed, Paet said.