Finland extends border closure with Russia indefinitely

By Leila Nezirevic

LONDON (AA) – Finland decided to extend the closure of its border with Russia until further notice, Finnish Interior Minister Mari Rantanen said Thursday.

In November, Finnish authorities closed border checkpoints with Russia after it accused the Kremlin of carrying out a suspected "hybrid attack" and purposefully assisting undocumented migrants in crossing into the Nordic country, which Moscow denied.

"Finnish authorities see this as a long-term situation. We have not seen anything this spring that would lead us to conclude that the situation has changed meaningfully," said Rantanen.

According to the government despite the closure, many asylum seekers still managed to find their way into the Nordic country with the numbers most likely to increase during warmer months.

"There are hundreds and possibly thousands of people close to Finland's border on the Russian side that could be instrumentalized against Finland," the minister expressed.

In March, Helsinki proposed a temporary legislation that would enable border personnel to block those seeking to enter from Russia.

Between August and December last year, more than 1,300 asylum seekers crossed into Finland from Russia, while previously the numbers had averaged just one person a day, according to Finnish authorities.

Following the border closure, the Council of Europe published a letter in December expressing concerns "about the rights of refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants" and urging Finland to ensure that asylum seekers and migrants could continue to seek protection.

The UN and many other human rights organizations have accused the Nordic country of violating international law and preventing people from seeking asylum.

Amnesty Finland warned that the decision to close all border crossings with Russia "undermines the rights of asylum seekers and increases the risk of serious human rights violations at the border."

Finland, which shares a 1,340-kilometer (832-mile) border with Russia and has eight official border crossings, became the 31st member of NATO last April, ending decades of military non-alignment as a result of Russia's war in Ukraine, which began on Feb. 24, 2022.