The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, described as “shameful” the Russian exploitation of migrants on the border with Finland.
The president of the European Commission (EC), Ursula von der Leyen, described this Thursday as “shameful” the instrumentalization by Russia of the use of immigrants on the border with Finland.
“I had a telephone conversation with the Prime Minister of Finland, Petteri Orpo, who informed me about the situation on the border with Russia. TO Russia’s instrumentalization of immigrants is shameful“Von der Leyen said in a statement.
Brussels “fully supports” the measures taken by Finland and thanked the Finnish border guards “for protecting European borders.”
The Finnish government announced on Thursday the closure of its four main border posts on the eastern border, a measure aimed at stemming the growing influx of migrants from neighboring Russia.
“Government [da Finlândia] “We made the decision to close the Vaalimaa, Nuijamaa, Imatra and Niirala border crossings,” said Finnish Interior Minister Mari Rantanen in a joint press conference with Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, in which she accused Russia of ” malice”.
The decision comes after the Border Guard warned that, in the last week, there has been a sharp increase in the flow of asylum seekers from third countries arriving at the border with Russia.
According to the agency, more than 200 people from third countries entered Finland through the eastern border crossings in the last week, mainly from Iraq, Yemen and Somalia, compared to 91 in the previous three months.
The Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Jens Stoltenberg, said he is closely following what is happening at the border.
“The alliance [Atlântica] is vigilant. Of course, the first responders, the Finnish authorities, are responsible for managing the situation at the border, but we need to exchange information, we need to have the best possible common understanding of the situation and then take the necessary measures if necessary, whether as NATO, as NATO allies or in other formats,” Stoltenberg said.
In 2021, the EU suffered a hybrid attack by Belarus, which displaced thousands of migrants to the EU borders.
On Wednesday, the Russian presidency (Kremlin) “deeply regretted” Finland’s plans to close the border with Russia, given the high number of illegal immigrant crossings and in a context of growing tensions.
Relations between the two neighbors have deteriorated considerably since February 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine, an attack that led Finland, concerned about its own security, to join NATO, an alliance that Moscow considers a threat.
“We deeply regret that the Finnish authorities have chosen a path of deliberately distancing themselves from the good relations we had,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said when asked about Finland announcing Tuesday that it was considering restricting traffic. border or even close its borders. crossing points with Russia.
The Finnish prime minister accused Russia of deliberately allowing migrants to cross the border despite not having valid documents, suggesting it was an attempt to destabilize his country.
Finland shares a 1,340 kilometer border with Russia.
Source: Observadora
