Helsinki, Dec. 15, (dpa/GNA) – Finland is closing its border with Russia again after briefly opening two crossings.
The eastern border will be completely closed again from Friday at 8 pm (1800 GMT) until January 14, the Finnish government announced on Thursday.
Finland gradually closed the border crossings to its eastern neighbour Russia in November. In the weeks running up to this, the Finnish border guard had registered a sharp rise in the number of asylum seekers, mainly from the Middle East, who had travelled from Russia without the necessary documents and applied for asylum in Finland.
Finland accused Russia of deliberately funnelling these people to the border of the EU and NATO member state in order to cause problems for the country. The Kremlin denied this.
The Finnish broadcaster Yle reported that more than 70 asylum seekers arrived at the Vaalimaa and Niirala border crossings after they were opened on Thursday. “This is a sign that the Russian authorities are continuing their hybrid operation against Finland. This is something that Finland will not tolerate,” Interior Minister Mari Rantanen said.
Finland shares a 1,340-kilometre border with Russia. After decades of military non-alignment, the EU country became a member of NATO in April in the wake of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.