From January 15, Finland will not open the border with the Russian Federation

The announced closure of the borders between Finland and Russia was supposed to end on January 15, but the checkpoints will remain closed.

Finnish newspaper Iltalehti, citing unnamed government sources, reports that Finland will not open the border with the Russian Federation. According to the source, “in the current situation it is difficult to expect that the border will be open.”

The government explains its decision to close the border by information received from authorities that Russia’s activities have not changed after the closure of the eastern border. Marie Rantanen, Finland’s interior minister, said on STT television on Monday that she had no information that Russia’s activities had in any way changed or were about to change after the closure of the eastern border.

Prime Minister of Finland Petteri Orpo believes that measures to close the checkpoint on the country’s eastern border with Russia should be continued. Last Tuesday, the border service reported that four people had illegally arrived from Russia across the eastern border into Finland. They are suspected of a crime against the state border.

Let us remind you that our publication reported that Finland “lowers the curtain” from November 30 – completely closes the border with the Russian Federation. She closed the last checkpoint due to the fact that the Russian Federation began facilitating the arrival of asylum seekers at the Finnish border.

On December 14, the Finnish government decided to open two border crossing points on the eastern border. However, on the first day, more than 100 asylum seekers arrived from Russia, after which authorities closed the eastern border for another month.

The Prime Minister of Finland said that Helsinki will have to look for a permanent solution to the situation.

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