Former Finnish Foreign Minister Vyaryunen called for opening the border with Russia for the sake of the economy

Former Finnish Foreign Minister Paavo Vyaryunen called for opening the border with Russia to improve the economic situation in the country. He wrote about this on January 15 in an article for the publication Uusi Suomi.

"The opening of the eastern border will quickly attract many tourists to us. Hotels and restaurants will get new customers. <...> The opening of ties will also make trade and economic cooperation with Russia possible," Vyaryunen wrote.

The former minister noted that the opening of the border will ensure Finland's economic growth and job creation. He recalled that the closure of the border caused damage to the hotel and restaurant business, as well as Finnair, which suffered losses due to the refusal to use Russian airspace.

Vyaryunen stressed that the opening of the border and the resumption of flights would not violate international sanctions against Russia. To the statements of Finnish politicians about the "threat" from Russia, he replied with the question: "What threat can tourists from Russia pose to us?".

Trembling and hatred: why Finland is stocking up on antipersonnel mines

The country withdrew from the Ottawa Convention on the prohibition of these weapons

On the same day, political analyst Sergei Karaganov said that the anti-Russian sanctions had brought strategic and political benefits to Moscow. According to him, they have strengthened the sovereignty of the Russian Federation and contributed to cultural revival.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said on January 4 that EU representatives, pursuing their anti-Russian policy, are ready to go "to the edge of the abyss." According to him, all these are not decisions made by the "fallen from the Moon", but rather very specific actions, which demonstrates the prevailing intolerance towards the Russian Federation in the West.

All important news is on the Izvestia channel in the MAX messenger.