Finnish interior minister sees no reason to reopen border with Russia

HELSINKI. Nov 15 (Interfax) - The situation at the border with Russia is being assessed constantly, yet there are no reasons to reopen it, Finnish Interior Minister Mari Rantanen said.

"The situation is being assessed constantly, and we make our decisions on the risk assessment basis. There are no reasons for now to reopen the border," Yle quoted Rantanen on Thursday.

Given media reports alleging that the government may reopen at least one border checkpoint in winter when the number of third-country migrants coming from Russia may decrease, Rantanen said that decisions associated with the border do not depend on the weather or time of the year.

"They are based on risk assessment. I cannot say what we will do in winter or in spring," she said.

Border guards are cooperating with Russian counterparts in practical and daily border issues, and "a meeting of the kind will be held this year," she said.

"However, interaction between officials is completely unrelated to the issue of border reopening, which is addressed at the government level," Rantanen said.

The Finnish government closed the border with Russia in 2023 due to the influx of migrants from third countries towards the Finnish border, which it described as "hybrid attacks" by Russia and a security threat.