Asked whether the Finnish-Russian border would remain closed for another month, Finnish Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Sari Essayah said: “The border will remain closed.”
The road leading to the Vaalimaa border checkpoint between Finland and Russia is closed. Photo: Reuters
Since late 2023, Finland has decided to close its border with Russia until January 14, 2024 to prevent a sudden increase in the number of asylum seekers.
According to the Finnish Border Guard, around 900 asylum seekers from Middle Eastern and African countries such as Kenya, Morocco, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria and Yemen crossed into Finland from Russia in November. This poses a challenge to Finland's national security.
On the Russian side, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Finland acted unilaterally by closing its border crossings with Russia. Russia protested against Finland's closure of its border with Russia and sent a note of protest to the Finnish Ambassador in Moscow over the closure of the checkpoints, saying that Helsinki had violated the rights and interests of Finns as well as Russians.
Tensions between Finland and Russia have escalated since April last year, when Finland became the 31st member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) alliance. After joining NATO, Finland's border became a common NATO border, doubling the border of NATO countries with Russia.
Ngoc Anh (according to Reuters, TASS)
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