Finland will keep its border with Russia closed until further notice over migration concerns
Finland says it will extend the closure of its border crossing points with Russia beyond the current April 14 deadline “until further notice” due to a high risk of organized migration orchestrated by Moscow
HELSINKI — Finland will extend the closure of its border crossing points with Russia beyond the current April 14 deadline “until further notice” due to a high risk of organized migration orchestrated by Moscow, the Finnish government said on Thursday.
The Finnish Interior Ministry said in a statement that the Nordic country's national security and public order would come under serious threat if the estimated hundreds of third-country nationals were to continue to attempt to enter from Russia without proper documentation.
“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.
Finland closed the 1,340-kilometer (830-mile) land border late last year after more than 1,300 migrants without proper documentation or visas — an unusually high number — entered the country in the three months since September, not long after Finland joined the NATO alliance.
Most of the migrants hail from the Middle East and Africa, from countries including Afghanistan, Egypt, Iraq, Somalia, Syria and Yemen. The vast majority of them have sought asylum in Finland, a European Union member state with a population of 5.6 million.
The Finnish Border Guard has earlier said that many migrants hold valid visas for working or studying — or have a residence permit — in Russia, which is considered a safe country.
Accusing Russia of deliberately ushering migrants to the normally heavily guarded Russia-Finland border zone that
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