INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Finland will close its eastern border with Russia, its interior minister said Thursday, hours after reopening it following a spike in
the border on Friday at 8:00 p.m
14, Interior Minister Mari Rantanen said at a press conference.On Tuesday, Finland opted to partially ease the closure that had been in
force since the end of November, aiming to assess whether there was still pressure on its borders.But it canceled the plan to ease
restrictions when migrants resumed entering the country immediately after restrictions were lifted.Two border crossing points in
southeastern Finland were opened overnight Wednesday to Thursday.The Finnish border guard said Thursday that at least 40 people had crossed
into Finland to seek asylum since the border was opened."The number of migrants increased rapidly and the phenomenon accelerated faster than
expected," Rantanen said.Arthur Parfenchikov, the governor of Karelia, the Russian region bordering Finland, said Thursday on X, formerly
Twitter, that "there are groups of migrants among the people wishing to cross the border."He said that the Russian authorities checked the
passports of the migrants and only found two with non-compliant documents."The others are allowed to pass through the checkpoint in small
restricting passage only to the northernmost checkpoint
That too was closed by the end of November.The Nordic country had seen nearly 1,000 migrants arrive without a visa through its
said.Finland is obliged by international law to ensure that migrants can seek asylum, and the availability of locations can only be limited
in exceptional circumstances, according to Finnish legal experts.Helsinki has accused Russia of orchestrating a migration crisis on its
border, aimed at exerting political pressure on its small neighbor."This is a sign that the Russian authorities are continuing their hybrid
operation against Finland," Rantanen said.According to Finnish authorities, Russian border guards are pushing the migrants to the
border.Finland cited the influx of dozens of migrants even at its northernmost border crossing, in the Arctic region of Murmansk,
immediately after others were closed as evidence of Russian involvement."The phenomenon is also linked to international crime," Rantanen
added.Moscow has denied intentionally sending migrants to Finland."Finnish authorities are beginning to make clumsy excuses, warming up
eastern neighbor soured after the invasion of Ukraine.Anticipating that Moscow could use migrants as political pressure, Finland in February
