The Finnish government announced on Thursday that it would extend border closures after Russia closed its borders following a surge in migrant arrivals that the city of Helsinki identified as a hybrid attack by Russia.
The Nordic nation closed its borders in mid-December after nearly 1,000 migrants arrived through its eastern border without visas since August.
“The government has decided to keep the border crossing on the land border between Finland and Russia closed until February 11, 2024,” the government said in a statement.
Finland shares a 1,340 km (830 mi) border with Russia.
“Based on the information collected by the authorities, it is very likely that Russia’s hybrid influence operations will resume and expand as we have just seen,” Interior Minister Mari Rantanen said in a statement.
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“We therefore consider it necessary to keep our eastern border closed.”
After the invasion of Ukraine, relations between Finland and its eastern neighbor deteriorated.
Moscow has warned of “countermeasures” after Finland joined NATO in April, reversing its decades-long policy of military non-alignment.
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Finland first closed four of its eight borders with Russia in November, then closed the rest by the end of the month.
Helsinki subsequently partially eased the lockdown, but the entire border was closed again on December 14.
On Thursday, the government reiterated that “it is clear that Russian authorities and other actors are facilitating instrumental migration” and considered this a “serious threat to Finland’s national security and public order.”
NZG-JLL/BC