(VOVWORLD) - Finland will close its last border checkpoint with Russia for two weeks after a surge of asylum seekers crossing the frontier, Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said Tuesday.
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Vehicles line up at Nuijamaa border checkpoint between Finland and Russia in Lappeenranta, Finland on November 17, 2023. (Photo: AFP/VNA)
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Orpo said at a press conference, that the two-week border closure will take effect between Wednesday and Thursday night and will end on December 13. The Raja-Jooseppi checkpoint is Finland's northernmost border crossing with Russia and the only one that remained open until this week. Seven others have been closed since November 18th.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko immediately protested Finland's decision. The Russian Foreign Ministry also sent a protest note to the Finnish Ambassador about the checkpoint closure, saying that Helsinki violated the rights and interests of Finns as well as Russians.
Data from the Finnish Ministry of Internal Affairs showed that more than 600 migrants have arrived at the Finnish border from the border crossings with Russia. They are mainly citizens of Yemen, Afghanistan, Kenya, Morocco, Pakistan, Somalia, and Syria.
Finland shares a 1,340 km border with Russia. After being admitted to NATO in April, its border became a common border of NATO.