The Finnish Government approved this Thursday “complete closure” of borders to Russian touristsEven if they have a visa issued in a country in the Schengen area, their arrival “could seriously damage Finland’s international standing”.
The measure, announced last Friday, will take effect at midnight tonight and aims to significantly restrict the entry of Russian citizens into the Scandinavian country. many continue to travel to other places European Union (EU).
Finland, which has a 1340-kilometer border with Russia, thus The last bordering community country to choose to veto the entry of Russian touristsafter the three Baltic republics (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) and Poland did the same two weeks ago.
Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said at a press conference, “The restrictions will remain in effect until further notice. This decision aims to completely stop the transit of Russian tourism to Finland and Russian tourists through our country.”
These restrictions will not affect those traveling to Finland for private reasons, visiting a close relative among them for educational, business or humanitarian reasons.
Russian diplomats, Finnish residents and political asylum seekers will also be able to travel normally.
Finland, whose air and rail connections have been cut off due to European sanctions against Moscow and the Baltic states and Poland’s veto, has until now been the gateway for Russian citizens to the EU.
According to data from the Finnish Border Guard, Since the President of Russia, 55,362 Russians have entered the country, Vladimir Putinannounced the mobilization of 300,000 reserve soldiers. he will fight in ukraine on wednesday last week. This figure represents an 86% increase over the 29,703 Russian citizens who arrived in Finland in the eight days before Putin’s announcement.
The Finnish government was widely criticized both within the country and by European partners for allowing border traffic with Russia to continue as normal.Military attack of Moscow on Ukraine.
The pressure led the executive, led by Social Democrat Sanna Marin, to seek a legal mechanism to block Russian tourism without violating the Schengen agreement.
The Finnish security services did not consider that the arrival of Russian tourists really poses a threat to the security of the country, as claimed by the Baltic republics and Poland, so they had to come up with another legal argument.
Finally, they argued that in the midst of the war in Ukraine, allowing Russian tourism in the current situation could seriously damage the country’s international relations.