Helsinki [Finland], November 24: Finland plans to close three more border crossings with Russia from Friday.
Only the Raja-Jooseppi crossing in Lapland north of the Arctic Circle will remain open to vehicles, the government announced on Wednesday evening. Asylum applications can be submitted there.
The new rules enter into force on Thursday at midnight (2200 GMT) and are valid until December 23. In recent weeks, the Finnish Border Guard registered a sharp increase in people, mainly from the Middle East, who travelled from Russia on bicycles without the necessary documents and applied for asylum in Finland.
Around 700 migrants have arrived in Finland this way since the beginning of August, according to government figures. Last week, the Finnish government closed four border crossings in the south-east, which can easily be reached from the Russian metropolis of Saint Petersburg.
Only the Vainikkala crossing, which is intended exclusively for railway trains, remained in operation in the south of Finland. Following the closure of the southern crossings, asylum seekers travelling via Russia arrived at the Salla and Vartius crossings in the north.
On Wednesday, 51 people without sufficient papers from Yemen, Pakistan, Somalia and Syria arrived in Salla, and 24 people arrived in Vartius.
The government in Helsinki accuses Russia of having started to allow people without valid papers to enter Finland.
Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said in a press conference that the closure of further border crossings was a clear signal to Russia that Finland would not accept this.
Source: Qatar Tribune
