The Finnish government announced on Thursday that it would indefinitely extend the closure of land border crossings with Russia and add several ports to the list prohibited from travel from its eastern neighbor.
Finland closed its land border with Russia late last year amid an increase in the number of people entering the country from countries such as Syria and Somalia. The government has accused Moscow of weaponizing migrants against Nordic countries, an allegation the Kremlin denies.
“Finnish authorities see this as a long-term situation. We did not see anything this spring that would lead us to conclude that the situation has changed significantly,” Interior Minister Mari Rantanen said in a statement.
The government announced in February that the border closure would remain in place until April 14.
Last year, Finland abandoned its longstanding military non-aligned position and joined the NATO alliance in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, much to the annoyance of Russia. The Nordic country also signed a bilateral defense agreement with the United States.
Despite border closures, a number of asylum seekers continue to arrive from Russia, and the government believes that number could increase significantly with the arrival of spring and warmer temperatures.
“There are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people on the Russian side near the Finnish border that could be used against Finland,” Rantanen said.
“Instrumentalized” refers to allegations that Moscow directed migrants to the frontier in order to increase pressure on Finland and the European Union as a whole over political and military support for Ukraine. That's what I did.
Last month, the Finnish government announced plans for interim legislation that would allow border authorities to:
Deter asylum seekers attempting to enter the country from Russia.
To prevent the spread of “instrumentalized” migration, the government will close three ports to leisure boats – Santio and Haapasari in the Baltic Sea, and Nuidjama on the shore of an inland lake shared by both countries. announced that it had been decided. As spring begins.
“This is dangerous for people trying to enter Finland and puts a strain on maritime search and rescue (operations),” the ministry said in a statement.
Finnish border authorities said more than 1,300 asylum seekers from countries such as Yemen, Somalia and Syria entered the country from Russia between August and December last year. Before this period, the number was on average only one per day.
