Finland has extended the closure of its border with Russia until April 14. The corresponding decision was made at a meeting of the country's government council on February 8.
“The State Council has decided that land border crossings between Finland and Russia will be closed until April 14, 2024,” the message said on website Finnish Ministry of Internal Affairs.
According to the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Mari Rantanen, “possibly thousands of migrants” live in the Russian border area who are waiting for the opportunity to continue their journey to Finland.
The previous ban was in effect until February 11.
A day earlier, Russian Ambassador to Finland Pavel Kuznetsov said that Helsinki’s decision to close the border is a step towards breaking relations with Moscow. Kuznetsov emphasized that the Finnish authorities do not take into account the rights and interests of tens of thousands of Finns and Russians.
Also on February 7, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, said that Finland does not want to discuss with Russia the security threats allegedly emanating from the Russian border and is avoiding direct dialogue between border services. According to her, responsibility for the decision to close the Russian-Finnish border lies entirely with Helsinki.
In mid-January, the Yle television and radio company reported that Finland would erect additional temporary barriers on the border with Russia in order to prevent illegal crossings.
Then Zakharova emphasized that blaming Russia for the migration crisis in Finland is a double standard of the West. She emphasized that there is no talk of any “uncontrolled flow” of migrants from the Russian Federation.
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