Finland has announced it will close 4 of its 9 border crossings with Russia from Saturday to control what appears to be a migrant provocation organized by Moscow, Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said on Thursday, as quoted by Reuters.

The 4 border crossing points in the south-east of Finland are usually the busiest between the two countries.

“Today, the government decided that Finland will close some checkpoints on the eastern border. In this regard, the eastern border will be closed from Friday night to Saturday,” Orpo said during a press conference.

At the same time, he said that Finland will cancel this measure if the flow of asylum seekers from Russia stops.

“Our message is strong, we want this phenomenon to end so that we can continue to move at the border as before,” he said.

What Finland says is happening on its border with Russia

The Finnish prime minister’s announcement on Thursday came two days after he said that Russian border guards had started letting people through to the border with Finland even if they did not have the necessary documents, and that “it is clear that these people are being helped.” . reach the border”.

The Prime Minister of Finland also reported that “Russian border guards escorted and transported people to the border.”

Finnish border police announced over the weekend that an unusual number of people, mostly asylum seekers, had arrived at border crossing points in southeastern Finland in recent months.

“Some people who do not have valid travel documents and have come to seek asylum have been allowed to reach the Finnish border. In this sense, it looks like a very conscious decision,” said Petteri Orpo, stressing that the Russian authorities have clearly changed their behavior in this regard.

Mikko Lehmus, director of the Finnish Border Guard’s risk analysis center, said most of the asylum seekers come from Iraq, Yemen and Somalia.

The situation is reminiscent of the artificial migration crisis caused by Belarus at the end of 2021 on its borders with Poland and Lithuania.

Lehmus said the current number of arrivals at the border is worrying, but the situation is under control.

“The issue was discussed at the official level with Russia, but these discussions did not lead to the desired result,” Interior Minister Mari Rantanen also said.

Tensions between Finland and Russia after the Scandinavian country joined NATO

Finnish Defense Minister Antti Haakkanen also spoke about the situation at the border, saying that “controlled entry is visible.”

He said he would brief NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and EU High Representative Josep Borrell, among others, on the unusual cross-border movement when the defense ministers of Finland, Estonia and Sweden present a review of the situation in the Baltic Sea in Brussels.

“There is no evidence that they are related in any way… [avarierea gazoductului] Balticconnector or these checkpoints. But all this should be taken very seriously,” Hakkanen said.

In April of this year, Finland became the latest country to join the North Atlantic Alliance, abandoning its historic neutrality in light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Finland and Russia have expelled each other’s diplomats in the months since the incident in early May at the Russian consulate on the demilitarized island of Åland, a Finnish territory.