The Finnish government has announced the closure of all but one of its border crossing points with Russia – Raya-Joosepi.
Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said that the remaining Kuusamo, Salla and Vartius checkpoints would be closed on the night of November 25.
Source. This was reported by Yle.
The decision was made to ensure the safety of Finnish citizens. It will be valid until December 23. However, if the situation continues to deteriorate, the authorities will take even tougher measures, Orpo warned.
The Raya-Josepi checkpoint is located 250 kilometers from Murmansk. It is the most difficult border crossing for Russians and is open only four hours a day. According to Orpo, asylum seekers will now be able to apply for international protection only there.
In total, there are nine checkpoints on the Russian-Finnish border. Earlier, 4 crossings were closed due to the growing migration pressure.
Finland began closing the border with Russia due to the growing number of illegal migrants from Iraq, Yemen, Somalia, Syria and other countries. The prime minister claimed that Russian border guards were deliberately letting them through without proper documents. A total of 280 migrants have applied for asylum in this way since the end of September.
President Sauli Niiniste accused the Russian authorities of trying to create a crisis at the border in order to take revenge for the decision to join NATO and expand defense cooperation with the United States.
The Russian authorities are reportedly moving migrants to the border with Finland in an organized manner, the Finnish Border Guard Service said.