(Helsinki) – Finnish Prime Minister Petri Orbo announced that Finland will close the last open border crossing with Russia, accusing Moscow of masterminding the migration crisis.
Interior Minister Marie Rantanen said during a press conference that the closure of this crossing, located in the north of the country, will take place overnight from Wednesday to Thursday and will continue until December 13.
The Prime Minister said: “The phenomenon observed in recent weeks on the border must stop,” noting that “exploited migration from Russia continues.”
Nearly 1,000 illegal asylum seekers have presented themselves at the eastern border separating the two countries since the beginning of August, according to Finnish authorities.
“Finland is the target of a Russian hybrid operation. This is a matter of national security,” the Interior Minister stressed.
Last week, Helsinki restricted crossing its borders with Russia to one point, the Raja Giuseppe point in the north of the country.
The Prime Minister said that this influx of migrants is “an organized activity and not a real emergency.”
“The ease with which migrants reached the remote Raja-Giuseppe border crossing is evidence of this,” he added.
Relations between the two neighbors have deteriorated significantly since February 2022 and the Russian attack in Ukraine, an attack that prompted Finland, concerned about its security, to join NATO in April 2023.
Moscow then promised to take “countermeasures” after this accession.
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