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- From a clean post: the border services of the Russian Federation and Finland resumed communication in conditions of a closed border
From a clean post: the border services of the Russian Federation and Finland resumed communication in conditions of a closed border
The border services of the Russian Federation and Finland are in contact, but Helsinki still refuses to open the border, the Russian embassy told Izvestia. Experts believe that behind the scenes of the public conflict, the parties continue to communicate on critical security and border issues. At the same time, the Russian Federation believes that the bridges have not been completely burned and the basis for normalizing the dialogue remains. But there is currently no political will on the part of Helsinki to build constructive ties. Nevertheless, Finland is able to play an important role in possible contacts between Russia and the EU — the President of the Republic, Alexander Stubb, is considered as a negotiator.
Contacts between the departments of the Russian Federation and Finland
After the start of its operation, the land border between Russia and Finland was closed. Moreover, a fence is being built in Helsinki that will cover about 200 km. Despite this, the border services of the two countries remain in touch.
"Working contacts between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, border services and other relevant agencies remain in place," the Russian Embassy told Izvestia. — Certain starting points for resuming the dialogue remain in this way. The key condition remains the availability of appropriate political will.
The border on the Finnish side remains closed indefinitely, "there is no desire to quickly reopen the checkpoints here yet," Russian diplomats said.
"The working contacts between the border services of Russia and Finland are rather technical in nature, related to the functioning of the border, control, prevention of illegal migration and maintaining a certain workable status quo," Evgeny Semibratov, deputy director of the Institute for Strategic Studies and Forecasts at the RUDN University, told Izvestia.
The parties are also able to discuss accident prevention, for example, to exchange information about forest fires that may spread from one country to another, or to coordinate actions in the event of a flood threat, added Pavel Feldman, professor at the Academy of Labor and Social Relations.
— Routine consultations on the engineering arrangement of the border cannot be ruled out. Even in conditions of frozen political relations, it is necessary to coordinate the repair of fences, signs and technical surveillance equipment," he noted.
In other words, the very fact of contacts does not mean that there are prerequisites for normalization of relations between the countries. And this is confirmed by Russian diplomats.
— At this stage, there are no signs of a desire for constructive cooperation on the part of Finland. The rhetoric of the country's foreign policy leadership towards Russia remains confrontational. The authorities continue to call for increased pressure on Russia, and are actively involved in the development and implementation of European and NATO projects directed against our country," the Russian Embassy added.
The diplomatic mission also noted that Helsinki's policy towards our compatriots "continues to be discriminatory in nature, contributing to the further entrenchment of Russophobic sentiments in society." After the outbreak of the Ukrainian crisis, Helsinki restricted the entry of Russians, and then tightened the rules for buying real estate. In 2025, the Finnish authorities approved a ban on the purchase of housing by citizens of Russia and Belarus, with the exception of certain categories. The authorities explained this decision for reasons of national security.
Why did relations with Finland deteriorate
The eastern border regions of Finland suffered the most from the closure of the eastern border who have lost a key source of income in the form of Russian tourists and trade. The South Karelia region suffered the most damage., whose financial losses due to the absence of guests from Russia are estimated at about €1 million per day, Western media wrote in 2025. Large retail chains (for example, Laplandia Market), supermarkets and outlets focused on cross-border shopping lost up to 80-90% of revenue. Many retail outlets have closed or reduced staff. Finland's eastern factories have been dependent on cheap raw timber and wood chips from Russia for decades. The search for new suppliers within the EU has led to higher logistics costs and lower profitability.
Nevertheless, political goals and decisions now prevail over economic calculations. Russian diplomats noted that the actions of the Finnish authorities in recent years have dealt a serious blow to relations between the two countries. And today they are almost completely destroyed. At the same time, after Finland's accession to NATO in 2023, there is still no reason to expect a change in the vector of its policy.
— Modern Finland has embarked on militarization. For many decades, it has played the role of a buffer between Russia and the West, and now it has turned out to be a full-fledged part of the Western military and political world — the North Atlantic Alliance," Semibratov said.
This creates a lot of problems for Russia due to the common border. Moreover, there is not a single major influential party in Finland right now. which would advocate normalization of relations with the Russian Federation. On the other hand, Finnish President Alexander Stubb has repeatedly stated that relations between the two countries will inevitably have to be rebuilt in the future. In addition, he also said that sooner or later the European Union will have to resume dialogue with Moscow.
He advocates that Europe initiate a dialogue with Russia on its own. According to him, the first step should be an attempt by the EU to start negotiations with Moscow, and in case of failure, this role could be assumed by the "European trio" — Great Britain, Germany and France. At the same time, the Finnish president stated that he did not believe in the threat of a Russian attack on the Baltic states, which some Western intelligence agencies were talking about. This significantly distinguishes his position from the harsh rhetoric of some Eastern European states.
At the same time, Finland is able to play an important role in the negotiations between the Russian Federation and the EU, since Stubb is seen as a negotiator who could represent the interests of the entire association in a dialogue with the Russian side. However, participation in negotiations with Russia does not at all mean that Brussels will be able to mediate in the Ukrainian settlement. As Vladimir Putin stated earlier, this requires complete neutrality. Meanwhile, the EU countries, actively supporting Kiev, actually became a party to the conflict.
Finland's policy in recent years has deprived it of the advantages in conducting a dialogue with Russia that the country previously enjoyed, the Russian Embassy said.
—It is perhaps difficult to consider Helsinki as an impartial mediator and an "honest broker," especially in relations with Moscow," the diplomatic mission added.
At the same time, Stubb actively comments on the Ukrainian settlement and is considered one of the most experienced and powerful diplomats in European circles. The Finnish president regularly links the experience of the republic and the conflict in Ukraine.. As a result of the war with the USSR, Finland retained its independence, paying for it with territorial concessions. However, in the eyes of Moscow, Stubb may not inspire much confidence because of his harsh statements against the Russian Federation, Semibratov believes.
On the other hand, normalization of relations with Russia has historically been more pragmatic for Finland than for Belgium, the Netherlands or France, which is explained by geographical proximity and economic benefits from cross-border cooperation. In addition, Finland did not form its historical memory around the confrontation with the Russians, as the Baltic countries did. Although the Soviet-Finnish war remains in the historical memory of the citizens of this republic, the positive experience of relations with Russia still outweighs the episodes of confrontation in the history of the two countries.
Further developments depend on whether Finland continues to express solidarity with the hardline position of the Baltic region, finally sacrificing economic benefits for the sake of collective security, or tries to return to a policy of conditional neutrality, even within NATO. In the second scenario, Helsinki could theoretically once again claim the role of a diplomatic bridge between East and West, which Sauli Niinisto, Alexander Stubb's predecessor, once sought to maintain.
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