Vehicles wait to cross the border between Russia and Finland on September 23, 2022 in Virolahti, Finland. In view of the influx following the “partial mobilization” ordered by Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, Helsinki announced that it would “drastically reduce entry”. Russian citizen” to its territory. SASU MAKINEN v AFP
This is an issue that deeply divides Europeans and will be on the agenda of an emergency meeting of Member States’ ambassadors organized by the Czech Presidency in Brussels on Monday 26 September. Should Russian citizens of an age that can be mobilized for Russia be accepted and welcomed in the European Union? Debates have been lively in Chancellery since the announcement of the “partial mobilization” decreed by Russia on Wednesday 21 September. While almost 6,500 Russians crowded the Russian-Finnish border on Friday, opinions differ.
Starting Thursday, September 22, Germany offered deserters to the Russian army who German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said were “at risk of serious repression”. But Prague and the Baltic countries are much less enthusiastic. Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky on Thursday refused to issue them humanitarian visas.
“Significant Security Risks”
For his part, in a tweet, his Latvian counterpart Edgars Rinkevics said that “many Russians who fled Russia because of the mobilization agreed to kill Ukrainians, they did not protest at the time. It is not fair to consider them conscientious objectors. There are significant security risks in taking them in and there are many other countries outside the EU that they can go to.”
Many of the Russians who are now fleeing Russia because of the mobilization agreed to killing Ukrainians, they didn’t protect them… https://t.co/Aced0VLKJI
This analysis is shared by the Baltic countries and Finland, which still want to reduce border crossings. After the Baltic states, Poland and Finland fought against issuing tourist visas in early September, bitter discussions at the European level had only succeeded in making the process for obtaining these visas more difficult for Russians.
Since then, these states have nonetheless decided to close their borders to these tourists on September 19. On Friday, Finland announced its intention to “significantly” reduce their arrivals. However, “there are exceptions,” says a Finnish diplomat. Russians with permanent visas, family connections or property in Finland can still pass. Likewise, they can come at any time for humanitarian reasons. »
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To date, however, the number of Russians seeking asylum in the country is negligible. “There have been 417 inquiries since the beginning of the year, versus the usual 200 to 500 inquiries per year. In the last two days we counted four,” he adds. If the number of Russians trying to cross the border has doubled this week, unlike those of other countries like Georgia, Serbia or Turkey, the borders are not being stormed.
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