Helsinki, November 27 – Finland is set to halt the acceptance of asylum requests from individuals crossing the border with Russia, according to Helsingin Sanomat, the country’s largest newspaper. The government is preparing to fully close the eastern border to asylum seekers, with the aim of reaching a decision on this proposal as soon as possible. “We have no other options. No border measures will help,” wrote Riikka Purra, the Minister of Finance and head of one of the largest parties in the government, “True Finns,” in a blog post on Sunday.
Over the past weekend, 58 individuals seeking asylum arrived at the only operational border crossing point between Russia and Finland, Raja-Jooseppi – Lotta. Prime Minister Petteri Orpo previously stated that the application centers would be concentrated at the Vantaa airport in the capital and seaports. The Finnish government has closed seven out of eight border crossing points with Russia due to the uncontrolled arrival of citizens from third countries, including Syria, India, Morocco, and others. Authorities have registered the arrival of people from over 30 nationalities. The decision to close the crossing points is in effect until December 23.
Commenting on Helsinki’s actions, Dmitry Peskov, the spokesperson for the Russian president, stated that “only those with a legitimate right use the border crossing,” and that fabricated accusations against Moscow are unacceptable. In Moscow, it is not ruled out that Finnish authorities may completely shut down the border, but they believe that if this were to happen, Helsinki would harm its own interests.
