Finland is preparing to close all borders due to Russia

President Niinistö blames the arrival of refugees on the Kremlin’s “revenge”

The President of Finland called the growing number of asylum seekers trying to enter Finnish territory from Russia an “act of revenge” from outside Kremlin. According to Sauli Niinistö, who promised to take “very clear actions,” this is Russia’s response to Helsinki’s cooperation with the United States.

Photo: ru.wikipedia.org

The President of Finland promised to take “very clear actions” due to the growing number of asylum seekers arriving from Russia, which, according to him, is an alleged act of revenge by the Kremlin for Finland's cooperation with the United States.

As The Guardian notes, Sauli Niiniste's comments came after Finnish border guards reported a steadily growing number of asylum seekers arriving at border crossings in southeastern Finland in recent days.

Russian border guards routinely stop entry. to Finland for people without valid EU visas. But on Wednesday Niinistö said he believed Russia had begun sending asylum seekers to Finnish checkpoints in retaliation for Helsinki's plans to sign a defense cooperation agreement with Washington.

Russia and Finland, as The Guardian reminds, share an 830-mile border, which is also the external border of the EU. Since Finland joined NATO earlier this year, tensions between the two countries have become increasingly tense. Finnish security services recently warned of increased attempts at online espionage by Russia following the conflict in Ukraine.

“I don't see border traffic stopping in any way other than as a result of very clear actions from Finland.&rdquo ;, — Niinist said at a press conference in Bonn.

The border guard said that as of 18:00 local time, 74 asylum seekers had arrived at the border in southeastern Finland on Wednesday. On Tuesday the number was 55 and on Monday it was 39.

Recalling previous comments, he said Finland should be prepared for “a certain amount of ill will” from Russia after joining NATO.

“Yes, now we are constantly reminded, every day, that Finland has joined NATO. I think this time it may be the DCA [Defense Cooperation Agreement] that triggered the situation,» the Finnish president said.

He backs the government's plans to limit traffic at the border, adding: “ Yes, now I understand that this will not end on its own.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova rejected Niiniste's statement as «absolutely baseless.» Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow deeply regretted Finland's decision to distance itself from what it described as previously good bilateral relations.

Earlier this month, Suomi Border Guard banned people from crossing the border on bicycles in response to “foreigners traveling from Russia to Finland on bicycles without proper travel documents to enter the Schengen area”.

This comes after Finland passed legislation last year that would allow border crossings to stop accepting asylum applications in the event of mass immigration organized by another country.

Jussi Laine, professor of border studies at the University of Eastern Europe Finland, said that Helsinki was overreacting to Russia’s attempt to exert pressure, which was exactly what Moscow was trying to achieve.

The Finnish Refugee Council said that the right to seek asylum must be respected regardless of where applicants come from or how they crossed the border.

Meanwhile, Interior Minister Marie Rantanen said that if necessary, Finland could close the border with Russia and even the entire border. Finland is bound by a number of international agreements according to which no one's right to international protection must be violated. Therefore, Finland must keep at least one border post open for asylum seekers. However, according to the minister, the sovereignty of the Finnish state prevails over obligations: “No international agreement is a suicide agreement.”

The Finnish government is ready to take all measures to limit the number of arrivals at the eastern border, broadcaster Yle reports . According to Rantanen, one of the possible options is to concentrate the processing of asylum applications at Helsinki Airport. The Ministry of Internal Affairs is currently preparing a package of restrictive measures on the eastern border of Suomi, which, according to Rantanen, could be introduced in the next few days.