Finland to close all but one crossing points on border with Russia
HELSINKI. Nov 23 (Interfax) - Finland will close all but one (seven out of eight) crossing points on the border with Russia for one month from Saturday due to the worsening migrant situation.
"All crossings on the eastern border but one will be closed in line with the government's decision because the flow of asylum seekers has not decreased recently. Only the Raja-Jooseppi crossing will stay open," Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said at a press conference on Wednesday.
"Our task is to ensure the Finns' security," Orpo said.
Last week, Finland closed four border crossings in the southeast, but, according to Orpo, "these measures were insufficient and proved unable to limit migrants' entry in the border area."
The government's latest decision is due to take effect at midnight on November 25 and will remain valid until December 23, Finnish Interior Minister Mari Rantanen said.
This means that the Finnish-Russian border may be crossed only through the Raja-Jooseppi northernmost point.
The tightened measures seek to ensure public order, safety and national security, Rantanen said.
Rantanen did not rule out that asylum seekers would continue to arrive at the border in large numbers, adding that Finland should be ready for that.
Serious security violations are continuing on the eastern border, Finnish Border Guard Deputy Chief Markku Hassinen said at a press conference that.
"Organized illegal migration is continuing and has also spread to the northern border crossings. For that reason, the Border Guard of Finland together with other security agencies assessed the situation and proposed a decision that the government approved today," Hassinen said.
Finnish authorities fear that illegal migrants from third countries might cross into Finland from Russia and believe this process is being instigated by Moscow.
Heavy army hardware, excavators and cranes have started erecting additional protective barriers in Finland's Vartius to prevent illegal border crossing by migrants.
On Wednesday, Murmansk region governor Andrei Chibis said that "the situation at the Salla checkpoint in the Kandalaksha district can well be described as a humanitarian crisis." "About 300 people from more than ten foreign countries have been waiting not even for hours, but for days to cross the border," Chibis said on Telegram.
He blamed Finland for the congestion on the border.
On November 20, Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said that the Finnish government's plans to close all Russian-Finnish border checkpoints "evoke nothing but deep regret." "But we are hardly able to influence [the decision of the Finnish authorities] at this point due to the absence of a dialogue as such, which is not our fault, as we did not initiate the curtailment of dialogue," Peskov said.
The Kremlin also dismissed allegations that Russian border guards were taking migrants to the Finnish border to provoke a crisis. "Border checkpoints are used by those who have a legitimate right to do so, and in this respect, our border guards fully follow their official guidelines," he said.
On November 20, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said the possible full closure of the Russian-Finnish border would go against the interests of Finland, and Russia will look to its national interests when contemplating a response.
On the same day, Finnish Ambassador to Russia Antti Helantera was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry. "The Russian side has declared a protest in connection with the closure by the Finnish authorities of the most actively used checkpoints on the Russian-Finnish state border," the ministry said in a statement. Finland's decision is provocative and "violates the rights and interests of dozens of thousands of our countries' citizens," the ministry said.