The Finnish Foreign Ministry said Russia had frozen the bank accounts of Finnish missions in the country. In Russia, in addition to the Finnish embassy in Moscow, St. Petersburg has a Consulate General.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed that the accounts of the Finnish representations in Russia are frozen and cannot be used,” the ministry said.
He applied to the Russian authorities to find out the reasons for the blocking of accounts.
“The situation is serious, the conditions are being investigated,” the Finnish embassy said. They reminded that, pursuant to Article 25 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, Russia is obliged to provide diplomats with every opportunity to fulfill their representative functions. The diplomatic mission stated that the European sanctions against Russia “are not directed against Russian embassies and consular offices”.
Finnish President Sauli Niinistö described the freezing of accounts of Finnish missions in Russia as an extreme measure, as the frozen funds of embassies in the Russian Federation significantly exceed the amount of blocked accounts linked to the Russian embassy in Helsinki.
“The freezing of bank accounts of Finnish diplomatic missions in Russia goes far beyond the restrictions on financial operations of the Russian embassy in Helsinki,” the head of state told STT news agency.
He also noted that it is necessary to consider how the country can ensure the operation of diplomatic missions in conditions of obstruction.
Threatened to close embassies
Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto did not rule out the possibility of closing diplomatic missions due to the accounts being blocked.
It may be necessary to close the consulate in St. Petersburg or the embassy in Moscow,” he said.
The Minister is currently at St. He announced that he has no plans to close the consulate in St. Petersburg or the embassy in Moscow. “We can continue to operate in Russia for the time being, but processing cash flows will be labor intensive,” he said.
The head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the actions of the Bank of Russia “seemed like a provocation, but were not thought through to the end”, while according to him the incident did not affect diplomatic relations between Moscow and Helsinki.
Haavisto said Finland learned of the account freeze on April 27, but did not disclose it because the public did not see “special drama” in what happened. In early May, Finnish diplomats sent a note to Russia asking them to clarify the situation.
“This cannot be seen as a Russian reaction to the sanctions. Haavisto said that he had complained about problems with payments at some of Russia’s embassies, but that banking operations were going well, according to the Foreign Ministry.
He also did not comment on the possible connection of Russia’s actions with the freezing of the accounts of the Russian Center for Science and Culture in Helsinki.
Blocking the accounts of the Russian Scientific and Cultural Center
March Finnish edition Talouselm The Finnish Debt Collection Agency reported that the Russian Science and Culture Center blocked the accounts in Nordea Bank.
In April, the country’s authorities confiscated the headquarters’ building and the land on which it was located. In addition, seven apartments where diplomats live were also arrested. The arrest was made in accordance with EU sanctions.
In this regard, Moscow sent a note to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland with a request to clarify how the actions of bailiffs relate to the norms of international law on the inviolability of state property. On April 19, Finland canceled the arrest for lack of reasons.
On May 1, 2023, the Russian embassy in Helsinki said that due to the fault of the Finnish side, the basis of bilateral cooperation was destroyed.
“When Helsinki joined the alliance [НАТО] “The diplomatic mission, the basis of the once close and mutually beneficial bilateral cooperation between our countries, has already been almost completely destroyed by the efforts of the Finnish side,” he said.
Russian diplomats said that economic and trade cooperation was interrupted earlier.