A view of the border between Russia and Finland at the Nuijamaa border checkpoint in Lappeenranta, Finland, on November 15, 2023. More and more citizens from third countries have arrived at Finnish border crossing points this fall without proper documentation via Russia. Finland has allowed people to enter via… Purchase license rights Find out more
HELSINKI, Nov 17 (Portal) – Finland will erect barriers at four border crossings with Russia from midnight, officials said on Friday, to curb a surge in migrants that Helsinki said was orchestrated by Moscow.
Finland has accused Russian authorities of funneling migrants to border crossings in retaliation for its decision to increase defense cooperation with the United States, a claim the Kremlin has rejected.
Barriers will be erected at four of the nine border crossings with Russia, at Vaalimaa, Nuijamaa, Imatra and Niirala in the southeast, the Finnish Border Guard said.
“Our goal is to use barriers to prevent entry,” the border guard’s international affairs director, Matti Pitkaniitty, told reporters. The measures are a response to changes in Russian border policy, he added.
According to the border guard, around 300 asylum seekers, mainly from Iraq, Yemen, Somalia and Syria, arrived in Finland this week.
According to official information, almost 100 people from Russia had entered Finland by Friday afternoon alone.
Finland shares a 1,340 km (833 mile) border with Russia, which also serves as the EU’s external border.
Helsinki angered Moscow when it joined the NATO military alliance in April after decades of non-alignment following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Starting Saturday, asylum seekers arriving via Russia will only be allowed to submit their applications at two northern border crossings, in Salla and Vartius, Pitkaniitty said.
Finland’s non-discrimination ombudsman said on Thursday that Helsinki was still obliged under international treaties and EU law to give asylum seekers the opportunity to seek protection.
The European Union’s border agency, Frontex, told Portal it would send officers to Finland to help protect the border.
“We … are preparing to provide immediate assistance through the additional deployment of our permanent officers,” a Frontex spokesman said in an email.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen thanked the Finnish authorities on Thursday for protecting the Union’s external border. “Russia’s instrumentalization of migrants is shameful,” she added.
Reporting by Essi Lehto and Anne Kauranen; additional reporting by Jan Strupczewski in Brussels; Editing by Terje Solsvik, Gareth Jones and Andrew Heavens
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