Finland to keep crossings along Russia borders closed indefinitely
3 Min Read
Finland has announced that crossing points along its land border with Russia and three of its ports will remain shut until further notice.
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Road signs "Russian Federation", left, and "Russia" are seen at the Russian border crossing point Svetogorsk from Pelkola border crossing point in Imatra, south-eastern Finland, Friday, April 14, 2023. (AP)
Finland announced that its border crossing points along its shared border with Russia will be closed "until further notice".
Border crossing points designated for maritime traffic along three of Finland's ports, Haapasaari, Nuijamaa, and Santio, will also remain shut to leisure boating.
In December 2023, Finland sealed its border with Russia entirely, claiming that the decision came after an increased number of undocumented migrants attempted to enter Europe through the Russian border.
Finland began the construction of a fence along its 1,340 km border with Russia in March 2023.
Given the war in Russia, Finland claimed to fear that Russia could weaponize mass migration from its territories to the EU through Finland. As such, Helsinki announced that the construction of the fence will begin "with forest clearance and will proceed in such a way that road construction and fence installation can be started in March.”
The declaration came as Finland's parliament advanced its application to join NATO. On April 4, 2023, it obtained full accession.
Finland-Russia border 'new dividing lines' across Europe: Zakharova
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova emphasized that Finland has been opposed to discussing with Russia alleged threats to Helsinki's security from the Russian side of the border between the two countries. According to Zakharova, Finland has also been steering clear from direct dialogue between border services.
"Helsinki is stubbornly refusing to discuss with us the alleged threats to Finnish security emanating from the Russian side of the border… The key to overcoming the current unhealthy situation on the border is the direct and constructive dialogue between the border services of the two countries, which the Finnish authorities are avoiding," Zakharova said.
Zakharova then stressed that Finland's position is politicized, explaining that the result is "nothing more than the erection of new dividing lines on the European continent."
"The responsibility for the decisions to keep the Russian-Finnish border closed in violation of the international commitments undertaken by Finland, including within the framework of the OSCE [the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe], to facilitate mutual travel and contacts between citizens, lies entirely with the Finnish authorities," the spokesperson said.
Read more: Finland's Gasum still buying gas from Russia under existing contract
