Irregular migrants, Finland closes last border crossing with Russia

Finland also closes the last border crossing with Russia, Raja-Jooseppi, in Lapland, beyond the Arctic Circle. Prime Minister Petteri Orpo made this known at a press conference. The decision was taken by Helsinki following an increase in the flow of irregular migrants from third countries, particularly the Middle East. The most isolated border crossing will remain closed for an initial period of two weeks. For transportation of goods, Vainikkala railway station will be opened on the southeast border. Finland will continue to monitor its borders with Russia to decide whether or not to extend the closure by two weeks. This was said by Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen upon her arrival on the second day of the NATO Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Brussels. “We are carefully monitoring the situation also with regard to the news reaching us from the other side, that is, what is happening on the Russian side. We will then assess how to proceed and whether it is necessary to extend the measure,” she said. “For now it is two weeks and, of course, we would like to get back to normal, keeping the border crossings open and ensuring that both sides, particularly Russia in this case, return to our common practice of not letting people through. people without valid travel documents”, concluded the minister.

During the meeting with his NATO counterparts in Brussels, Minister Antonio Tajani had a bilateral meeting with his Finnish counterpart Elina Valtonen, who expressed interest in Italian migration policy. As Tajani explained during a press session, “there will be joint communication with Finland on common concerns regarding migration issues, trying to insist on strengthening Frontex”. “From this point of view, the Italian position continues to have consensus among our interlocutors”, he declared then. “We focused on the Frontex issue, the situation of immigrants arriving from the Middle East and those who are pressured by Russia to go to Finland. That’s why they closed the borders”, he explained then. “There is the same risk for us too. There may also be Wagner initiatives to push migrants to the northern Mediterranean and therefore to Italy. We also face this problem,” concluded Tajani.