The Kremlin said on Thursday that the decision to freeze the bank accounts of Finnish embassies and consulates in Russia is a response to the unfriendly actions of the “collective West”, which is actually responsible for the situation, Reuters reports.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov’s comments on Thursday came just a day after Finland’s foreign ministry confirmed, following initial media reports, that Russia had frozen the bank accounts of its diplomatic missions in Vladimir Putin’s country.
Denmark later said it had been hit by the same measure by Moscow, with both countries saying their embassies had made cash payments after discovering their money was stuck. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland stated that Russia took such a measure back in April.
Finland, which shares a roughly 2,500-kilometer border with Russia, officially joined NATO on April 4 in a radical foreign policy paradigm shift in response to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Russian embassies in several European countries have had problems with their bank accounts since last February, with their funds in some cases seized to punish Moscow for its actions in Ukraine.
The Kremlin’s “explanation” regarding measures taken against Finnish diplomacy
Speaking about the freezing of Finnish diplomatic bank accounts, Dmytro Peskov said on Thursday that:
“This is not an initiative of the Russian side. We are reacting to the situation created by the authorities of several countries of the collective West, including, to our regret, Finland.”
Peskov also said that Russia never leaves unanswered what he called “unfriendly actions” towards Moscow.
Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto told reporters in Helsinki on Wednesday that his ministry sent a note to the Russian authorities on May 4 asking them to explain the situation and resolve it.
Peskov said on Thursday that Moscow would respond to Finland, his comments came two weeks after the Finnish side made the request.
“We will respond to this note by confirming the principle of reciprocity and that the principle of corresponding responsibility for unfriendly actions will continue to prevail in our relations,” said Vladimir Putin’s press secretary.
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Source: Hot News
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