2024-04-04 14:41:40
Finland will extend the closure of its land borders with Russia “ until further notice“, accusing Moscow of still wanting to orchestrate a migration crisis, the government announced Thursday.
Last November, Helsinki closed its land border, a decision that was briefly suspended in December before being reinstated and extended until April 15.
As the situation has not changed, this closure is extended “ until further notice but no longer than necessary“, according to the press release from the Ministry of the Interior.
« We have seen nothing this spring that allows us to conclude that the situation has changed significantly“, declared the Minister of the Interior, Mari Rantanen, quoted in this press release.
« Spring will be an opportunity to increase pressure on Finland. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of people near the Finnish border on the Russian side who might be used once morest Finland“, she adds.
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The authorities further announce a ban on recreational boating at border crossing points for maritime traffic at Haapasaari, the port of Nuijamaa and Santio, all located in the Gulf of Finland.
« The government is preparing for the possibility that instrumental migration will extend to maritime traffic as spring progresses“, he explains.
The government is also preparing a bill that would allow it to restrict the reception of asylum applications to a “limited area” of Finland’s national border.
Helsinki accuses Moscow of deliberately letting migrants pass and denounces a “ hybrid attack » aimed at destabilizing the country. The Kremlin rejects these accusations.
Relations between the two neighbors, who share a 1,340-kilometer-long border, have deteriorated considerably since February 2022 and the Russian offensive in Ukraine.
This led Finland, worried regarding its security, to join NATO in April 2023.
With MAP
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