By Elena Teslova
MOSCOW (AA) - Moscow announced on Tuesday that it closed its mission in the Finnish city of Lappeenranta and revoked the authorization of the work of the Finnish Consulate General in Saint Petersburg.
In a statement on its website, the Russian Foreign Ministry said it handed the relevant diplomatic note to Finnish Ambassador Antti Helantera.
The diplomatic service pointed out that the decision was taken due to Finland's "confrontational course," which caused "serious damage" to the Russian-Finnish relations.
"At the initiative of the Finnish side, the bilateral political dialogue has been curtailed, multifaceted trade and economic cooperation has been destroyed, the network of twinning ties of cities and regions, dense cross-border cooperation has been severed, aviation and railway communications have been stopped," it said.
The ministry added that Finland abandoned its policy of non-participation in military alliances and joined the NATO bloc, which "does not hide its orientation against Russia."
"Obstacles are being put in place for the normal functioning of Russian foreign bodies and companies in Finland. Provocative actions, threatening the safety of the staff of our (diplomatic) mission are regularly carried out, which the Finnish authorities are not able to stop," it noted.
The diplomatic service also recalled that in autumn 2022, Finland banned the entry of Russian citizens with Schengen tourist visas and stop delivering the visas for Russians.
"The Russian side at this stage decided to reduce the mutual consular presence with Finland, since it does not correspond to the current level of Russian-Finnish relations," it stressed.
The diplomatic service also said "the responsibility for the current situation lies entirely with the Finnish side."