Finland closes border crossings with Russia indefinitely

According to the international group Tasnim news agency, citing the weekly newspaper “Spiegel”, the government of Finland On Thursday, it announced that it will extend the closure of its land border crossings with Russia “indefinitely”.

Thus, the Helsinki government announced: Finland wants to keep its border with Russia closed indefinitely. This decision will remain in effect until further notice, but no longer than necessary. In addition, “sea border crossings at Hapasaari, Noijama Port and Santu will be closed to cruise ships from April 15” to “prevent the spread of instrumental migration to maritime traffic,” the statement said.

Accordingly, from April 15, asylum applications can only be made at sea border crossings or airports other than those listed.

According to the Finnish authorities, opening the border could be a threat to national security and public order. “We have not seen anything so far that would lead us to conclude that the situation has changed significantly,” explained Finland’s interior minister Marie Rantanen. According to him, hundreds or possibly thousands of people remain on the Russian side of the border.

Finland joined NATO in April 2023. The Nordic country applied to join the military alliance as a result of Russia’s war against Ukraine, which began in February 2022. Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the end of last year that Finland and Russia had “no conflicts” before and that all territorial issues “were resolved a long time ago”. He emphasized: Finland joining NATO now will create “problems”. Killed in a school shooting in Finland