Finland to close Russia border points amid heavy migration

Finland's prime minister Petteri Orpo on Thursday said that four of the country's nine crossing points on its long eastern border with Russia will be closed starting Saturday in an attempt to stem the flow of asylum seekers. 

"The government has today decided that Finland will close some eastern border crossing points," Orpo told a press conference. 

The move comes in response to a sharp increase in the number of asylum-seekers from countries such as Iraq, Yemen, Somalia and Syria, who Finnish authorities are being purposely ushered towards the border by Russia.

The accumulated number of arrivals since September now stands at 280 asylum-seekers, the Border Guard Authority said on Thursday, with many arriving at the border zone on bicycles that Finnish and Russian media reports say were provided to them.

Up until a couple of months ago, asylum seekers would arrive at a rate of less than one per day.

Finland: 'Russian border operations have changed'

Finnish border authorities have also reported a change in the behavior of their Russian counterparts, with whom they used to cooperate productively for decades on stopping undocumented travelers before they could attempt to enter either of the two countries. Finnish authorities say Russia has started allowing undocumented travelers to access the border zone.

Once there, they can enter crossing stations and request asylum in Finland, and thus, in the European Union.

"The operations of the Russian border authorities have changed," Prime Minister Orpo told reporters.

Finland said it would reverse its decision if the asylum arrivals ended.

"Our message is strong, we want this phenomenon to end so we can continue the border traffic like we have until now," Orpo said. 

Finland suspects Russian response to NATO accession

Finland's president, Sauli Niinisto, claimed on Wednesday that this appeared to a response by Moscow to Finland's defense cooperation with the United States and accession to NATO earlier this year after decades of non-alignment.

He said that Finland must be prepared for a "certain malice" from its neighbor due to its decision to join the Western military alliance as a result of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

"We're constantly being reminded [by Moscow] that Finland has joined NATO," Niinisto told reporters during a visit to Germany.

Finland's Foreign Ministry announced last month that the country agreed to a new bilateral defense agreement with the United States.

Among other things, the so called DCA pact allows Washington to send US troops and store equipment, weapons and ammunition in Finland.

Which Finland-Russia border crossings will be closed?

Finland shares a 1,340-km (833-mile) frontier, which also serves as the EU's external border, with Russia mostly through thick forests in the south, all the way to the rugged landscape in the Arctic north.

There are only nine crossing points, one of which is railway only. 

The four border crossings in question – Imatra, Niirala, Nuijamaa and Vaalimaa – are the southeasternmost crossing points and normally the busiest points of travel between the two countries.

Some 3,000 people use Finland's south-eastern border crossings on a daily basis. Orpo said he understood that the closures would make everyday life more difficult for people who are allowed to travel between Finland and Russia.

Asylum-seekers arriving via Russia will from Saturday onwards only be allowed to hand in their applications at two northern border crossings, the government said.

mf/wmr (Reuters, AFP)