Finland's prime minister says border with Russia to be closed until an agreement is reached

The border between Finland and Russia will remain closed until a way is found to conclude an agreement on the opening of border posts. Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said on December 21.

"The eastern border is currently closed and we cannot open it until we find a way to open one or more border posts in agreement with the Russians," the Iltalehti newspaper quoted him as saying.

Orpo added that there is no consensus on the issue at the moment. He emphasized that Finland will open the border if Russia does not send migrants without the necessary documents.

Earlier, on December 15, the organization of Russian-speaking residents of Finland "Alexander Society" held rallies in several cities of the country for the opening of checkpoints (checkpoints) on the border between the Scandinavian state and Russia. Svetlana Zhurova, deputy chairman of the State Duma (Duma) Committee on International Affairs, commenting on the situation, said that the Finnish authorities would probably not pay attention to the rallies in cities in support of opening the borders with Russia.

On November 30, a demonstration demanding the opening of the border with Russia was held by the Free Movement organization and a number of local non-governmental organizations (NGOs). In their opinion, the closed border endangers people seeking asylum, and Finnish politicians' words that open checkpoints (KPP) threaten the country's security, criminalize refugees and increase racism.

In November 2023, Finland closed all checkpoints on its border with Russia under the pretext of an influx of migrants from third countries. At the time, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova noted that Moscow was ready to work with Helsinki to resolve the situation.