Published November 30, 2023
Tensions between Russia and Finland are set to rise after Helsinki decided to close the last remaining border crossing in its frontier with Russia on November 29.
The Finns had been accusing Moscow of “orchestrating” a crisis when it observed a sudden spurt in the number of asylum seekers, which it alleged was a part of an influence operation.
Earlier the same day, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov lashed out at the amassing of Finnish forces at the border, calling it an “unnecessary,” “redundant,” and “excessive” measure, reasoning that the Scandinavian country faced no military threats from Russia.
Despite Moscow’s criticism of Finland joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) this April, the 1,340-kilometer-long border did not see any tensions or faceoffs. This was especially true since the Finnish government and the military alliance had openly declared that they did not plan to host any nuclear facilities or permanent military bases there in a signal to Moscow to assuage its concerns.
But November 29’s turn of events rapidly escalated into a diplomatic standoff. After Helsinki declared it would shut the last remaining Raja-Jooseppi border crossing in the far north, Poland announced it would send military advisors to mentor the Finns on a possible military scenario. This drew an angry reaction from Russia, which said it would view these steps as a “threat.”
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SOURCE: www.eurasiantimes.com
RELATED: NATO ‘Troops’ at Russia Border ‘Excessive’: Kremlin
Published November 29, 2023
The Kremlin has decried reports that Poland plans to send “troops” to Finland’s border with Russia, saying on Wednesday that such a move would be “excessive.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin‘s spokesman Dmitry Peskov was responding to an earlier post by the head of Poland’s National Security Bureau, Jacek Siewiera, which said Warsaw would send “a team of military advisers” to Finland in response to “an official request for allied support in the face of a hybrid attack on the Finnish border.”
The team “will provide on-site knowledge on border security, also in operational terms,” said Siewiera in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
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SOURCE: www.Newsweek.com
RELATED: Finland Temporarily Closes Last Border Crossing With Russia
Raja-Joosepi Russian Border Crossing in Lapland, Finland. View from Lapland into Russia. No traffic under blue cloudy skies. Hidden in a forest.Getty Images
Published November 29, 2023
Finland shut down its only remaining checkpointon the border with Russia at midnight Wednesday after an influx of 900 asylum seekers crossed the border from Russia into Finland this month.
It is not expected to reopen for at least another two weeks. The Prime Minister of Finland, Petteri Orpo, said that he believes some of the asylum seekers were purposely sent by the Russian government.
Russia is enabling the instrumentalisation of people and guiding them to the Finnish border in harsh winter conditions. Finland is determined to put an end to this phenomenon,” Prime Minister Orpo said in a government press release on Tuesday.
Russia has not immediately responded to Finland’s decision, but has denied encouraging asylum seekers to enter Finland. The Finnish government says that most of the asylum seekers are coming from Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Iraq and Afghanistan without proper documentation.
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SOURCE: www.time.com
