Finland to reopen two border crossings with Russia

Finland will reopen two border crossings with Russia on Thursday, the country's Prime Minister Petteri Orpo announced at a press conference in Helsinki on Tuesday.

The main Vaalimaa crossing in southeastern Finland and the one at Niirala, about 250 kilometers (155 miles) to the north, will be reopened to traffic, but all other land border crossings will remain closed.

All eight crossings between the two countries were closed by the Finnish government in late November to prevent asylum seekers from entering the country.

The border will be open for an initial period until January 14. Prime Minister Petteri Orpo also warned that the entire eastern border could be closed again if necessary.

Orpo said that the restrictions have been eased in order to assess whether "there is a change for the better."

"If the phenomenon continues, we will close these border crossings," he added.

Sealed border amid migrant crisis

Finland last month shut the Russian border until December 13 to block an increasing number of refugees from arriving in the Nordic nation in what the government and its allies said was an orchestrated move by Moscow.

In the weeks before, the Finnish Border Guard had registered a sharp increase in the number of asylum seekers, mainly from the Middle East, who traveled from Russia without the necessary documents and applied for asylum in Finland.

Some 900 asylum seekers from nations including Kenya, Morocco, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria and Yemen entered Finland via Russia in November, an increase from less than one per day previously, according to the Finnish Border Guard. The arrivals stopped when Finland shut the border.

Finland accused Russia of deliberately bringing these people to the border of the EU and NATO member state, which the Kremlin denied.

Finland discourages asylum seekers

The Finnish Ministry of the Interior has said that it is now only possible to apply for international protection at the eastern border in Vaalimaa and Niirala.

However, it advised people not to travel to the Finnish-Russian border under the current conditions. Finland will ensure that migration across its eastern border will not be used as a means to put pressure on Europe, said Interior Minister Mari Rantanen.

Finland shares a 1,340-kilometer eastern border with Russia. The EU country joined NATO in April after decades of military non-alignment in the wake of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. Moscow warned of "countermeasures" after Finland joined NATO.

The border closure provoked loud protests from Russians living in Finland.

dh/ab (dpa, AP, AFP)