Finland will keep its border with Russia closed indefinitely as intercontinental tensions remain high.
The country has repeatedly delayed reopening its 830-mile-long border with Russia since 2023. Finland has accused the Kremlin of deliberately allowing migrants from a third country to cross the border without documentation.
The Finnish Interior Ministry cited security and public order concerns in its announcement. The government had previously said the border would be closed until April 14.
“Based on information provided by public authorities, the risk that instrumentalized migration (by Russia) will resume and expand as seen previously remains likely,” the ministry said, per AP News.
Finland was admitted to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization on April 4, 2023 after years of neutrality. At the ceremony, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Russian President Vladimir Putin had failed to “slam NATO’s door shut.”
“Instead of less NATO, he has achieved the opposite; more NATO and our door remains firmly open,” said Stoltenberg.
Since then, an estimated 1,300 migrants entered Finland from Russia. Migration at the Finland-Russia border has been an increasing concern for several years.
“Finland must prevent foreign countries from experimenting with hybrid influence by exploiting asylum seekers,” said Kai Mykkänen, a member of the Finnish parliament, in November of 2021, per EuroNews. “It is the only way to prevent a situation that will be a human catastrophe for tens of thousands of people caught up in the process and a threat to the national security and sovereignty of the host country.”
At the time, Belarus had been accused of encouraging migrants from the Middle East to enter Europe via its border with Poland.
In August of 2022, Finland passed a bill approving the construction of a stronger fence along its border.
“What we are aiming to build now is a sturdy fence with a real barrier effect,” said Sanna Palo, director of the Finnish border guards’ legal division, per The Guardian. “In all likelihood the fence will not cover the entire eastern border but will be targeted at locations considered to be the most important.”
Russia opposed Finland’s admission to NATO which expanded its geographical border with the alliance. Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said the move “creates the risks of a significant expansion of conflict” but denied that it would impact the outcome of its ongoing conflict with Ukraine.
"Helsinki's policy of military non-alignment had long served Finnish national interests and was an important factor of confidence-building in the Baltic Sea region and the European continent as a whole," said the Russian Foreign Ministry in a statement, per Reuters.
"This is now a thing of the past. Finland has become one of the small members of the alliance that doesn't decide anything, losing its special voice in international affairs. We are sure that history will judge this hasty step,” he added.
