Helsinki –
Authority Finland will close all its borders with Russia for travelers over the next two weeks. This step is intended to stop the overflow of para asylum seekers entry into the Nordic country, which Finland and its allies say is regulated by Russia.
As reported Reuters, Wednesday (29/11/2023), Finnish authorities last week closed all of their border posts, except one, to travelers from Russia, and only opened the northernmost crossing post located in the Arctic. But now this post will also be closed by Finland.
Around 900 asylum seekers from countries such as Kenya, Morocco, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria and Yemen entered Finnish territory from Russia this November. According to the Finnish Border Guard, this figure has increased compared to previous data.
The decision to close eight border crossings, according to the Finnish Border Guard, means only cargo trains can pass between the two countries.
Helsinki accused Moscow of sending its citizens to the border in retaliation for the decision to increase cooperation with the United States (US). The accusations have been denied by the Kremlin.
Finland angered Russia earlier this year when it joined the NATO alliance, ending Helsinki’s years-long military non-alignment stance following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
“This is an influence operation by Russia and we will not accept it,” stressed Prime Minister (PM) Petteri Orpo at a press conference.
On Monday (27/11) local time, Orpo said his country had intelligence about Russian authorities helping asylum seekers and that even though Finland’s borders were closed, there were still more people moving towards Finland from Russia.
This week, to be precise on Monday (27/11) local time, only three asylum seekers were recorded arriving in Finland via the remote Raja-Jooseppi station, the last border post still open, and on Tuesday (28/11) local time, the same absolutely no immigrants entered the country.
Border stations, the Finnish government said, will remain open on Wednesday (29/11) local time before being completely closed on December 13.
See also Video: Russia Begins to Be Wary of NATO’s Real Threat
(nvc/ita)
2023-11-29 04:38:06
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