The Finnish government will keep its eastern border with Russia closed until at least February 11, Finnish media outlet Irta Sanomat reported on February 6, citing government officials.
Finland completely closed its border with Russia in late November 2023 to prevent the influx of migrants via Russia. In November alone, around 900 asylum seekers from countries such as Kenya, Morocco, Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen entered Finland from Russia.
Finnish authorities suspected asylum seekers were being driven to the border by Russia in what Helsinki dubbed a “hybrid operation against Finland.”
Helsinki in the beginning decided It decided to reopen the two borders with Russia on December 14, 2023, but quickly reversed the decision the next day.
According to Interior Minister Mari Rantanen, the situation at the Finnish border has not changed since December, with migrants reportedly waiting to enter Finland on the Russian side of the border. Finnish authorities decided in January to close the border for another month.
A new decision on the border situation is expected to be taken on February 8, but government sources told Irta Sanomat that the situation remains the same and that the government will only temporarily extend the closure. Instead, they are looking for more sustainable solutions.
Marko Salek, deputy head of the Finnish Border Guard, said there are probably thousands of migrants waiting in Russia to cross into Finland. Salek added that the current situation is likely to persist until the snow melts in the spring, at which point the pace of crossing attempts is likely to increase.
Rantanen has repeatedly said that legislation to streamline the asylum application process alone will not address the problem.
Following Finland’s decision to close its borders again in December 2023, Rantanen said: “This is a sign that the Russian authorities are continuing their hybrid operations against Finland, which is unacceptable to Finland. ” he said.
Allegations that Russia is using migrants to create chaos on its border with Finland are similar to a similar strategy used by Belarus. Facilitate Third country migration flows to the Baltic states and Poland from 2021 onwards.
In Finland asked for Learning from Poland’s experience in dealing with border security issues and the weaponization of migrants.
Also read: Media: Russia was planning an intervention operation to prevent Finland and Sweden from joining NATO
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