Finland closes its doors to asylum seekers saying Vladimir Putin is deliberately sending them across border with Russia because it had joined NATO

Finland has closed its doors to asylum seeking, arguing that Vladimir Putin is deliberatively sending them across the border with Russia because it has joined NATO.…CONTINUE READING

Finland closed four crossings on its border with Russia early on Saturday as Helsinki seeks to halt a flow of asylum seekers it says was instigated by Moscow.

The Finnish Border Guard on Friday announced it would erect barriers from midnight local time at the Vaalimaa, Nuijamaa, Imatra and Niirala border posts in southeast Finland.

This would account for much of the travel between the two countries.

‘We have had bigger numbers like on Monday 39 and on Wednesday 75. Yesterday was quite peaceful, but today again over 100 irregular immigrants have come to the southeast district of Finland,’ said Captain Jussi Vainikka of the Finnish Border Guards.Asylum seekers coming from Russia are transported to Joutseno Reception Centre, at the Nuijamaa border station between Russia and Finland in Lappeenranta, Finland, November 16, 2023
Border guards place asylum seekers that had crossed over from Russia into a van to be transported to a reception centre from the Nuijamaa border station between Russia and Finland in Lappeenranta, south eastern Finland early morning on November 16, 2023
Asylum seekers coming from Russia been transported to Joutseno Reception Centre at the Nuijamaa border station between Russia and Finland in Lappeenranta, Finland early morning on November 16, 2023

The Finnish government has accused Russia of funnelling migrants to the crossings as payback for its decision to increase defence cooperation with the United States, an assertion dismissed by Moscow.

The Kremlin said on Friday that Finland was making a ‘big mistake’ by closing down border crossings and that Helsinki’s move was destroying bilateral relations.

Finland shares a 1,340-km (830-mile) border with Russia that also serves as the EU’s external border.

Some 300 asylum seekers – mostly from Iraq, Yemen, Somalia and Syria – have arrived in Finland this week, according to the Border Guard.A car is seen at the border between Russia and Finland at the Nuijamaa border checkpoint in Lappeenranta, Finland, November 16, 2023
Border guards place asylum seekers that had crossed over from Russia into a van to be transported to a reception centre from the Nuijamaa border station between Russia and Finland in Lappeenranta, south eastern Finland early morning on November 16, 2023
A car is seen at the border between Russia and Finland at the Nuijamaa border checkpoint in Lappeenranta, Finland, November 16, 2023
Asylum seekers coming from Russia are seen at the Nuijamaa border station between Russia and Finland in Lappeenranta, Finland, November 16, 2023
An asylum seeker sits in on the ground near the Nuijamaa border crossing between Finland and Russia, in Lappeenranta, southeastern Finland, on November 17, 2023, after the Finnish government announced to close four of its eight eastern border crossings with Russia early on November 18

A fifth border post had already been shut for passengers when train services between the two countries were suspended last year, but four regular border crossings remain open for the time being.

Asylum can now only be sought at two of those, in Salla and Vartius, the Border Guard said.

On Friday, European Union border agency Frontex told Reuters that it would send officers to Finland to help safeguard the frontier.

Finland’s Finance Minister Riikka Purra of the anti-immigration Finns Party said in a television interview on Thursday that her country was ready to close all crossing points on the Russian border if necessary.

Finland’s ombudsman for non-discrimination this week said Helsinki still had a duty under international treaties and EU law to allow asylum seekers to seek protection.