Finland's interior minister, Mari Rantanen, said there was no controversy in the government about the border closing. Also, there is no indication that Russia has changed its border policy in any way. So, closing the checkpoint with the Russian Federation will continue.
Finland not to open the border with Russia
The Finnish authorities intend to continue closing all checkpoints on the Russian border.
The Iltalehti publication published this info regarding the government's sources.
An official decision on this will be announced on Thursday.
Finland's interior minister, Mari Rantanen, said there was no controversy in the government about closing the border and that there was no indication that Russia had changed its border policy in any way. The Finnish PM Petteri Orpo is sure that the restrictive measures should be continued.
The previous government's decision to temporarily close all checkpoints is valid until January 15. The government is likely to extend it for another month.
As before, Helsinki is concerned about the threat of the illegal migrants influx to Finland through the Russian border. Such cases continue even after the closure of checkpoints. Four border violators were detained on Wednesday in the Parikkala community in South Karelia, which borders Russia, the newspaper reported.
The closure decision of all Finnish border checkpoints with Russia
Finland closed all nine border crossings on the Finnish-Russian border in mid-November 2023.
The authorities in Helsinki accused Moscow of provoking citizens of third countries to cross the border. According to the Finnish MFA, more than 500 asylum seekers have come across the border with Russia since the beginning of November. Among them are citizens of Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Somalia and other countries, whom the Russian border guards let through at their checkpoints without presenting documents allowing them to cross the border.
On December 14, Finland opened two checkpoints — Vaalimaa and Niirala, but due to the arrival there of more than 60 asylum seekers, their work was stopped within a day.
