Finnish political scientist Henri Vanhanen said the crisis in diplomatic relations between Finland and Russia gave Helsinki reason to consider closing the Russian consulate in the Åland Islands. It has been reported Ilta Sanomat.
The political scientist points out that the situation may begin to develop in an undesirable direction for Finland. According to him, Finland’s St. The equivalent of the Consulate General in St. Petersburg is the Consulate General of the Russian Federation in Turku. Vanhanen added that in such a case, the symmetrical countermeasure would be the closure of the consulate in Turku.
According to him, if this happens, there is a risk that Russia will respond to these actions.
Before that, Finnish President Sauli Niinistö declarationRussia’s St. He said that the announcement of the closure of the Finnish Consulate General in St. Petersburg is something completely new for Helsinki.
He also added that although Helsinki did not see this step as an important countermeasure, Russia opened up a completely different dimension. Niinistö stressed that Finland was preparing its own response to Moscow’s actions, but did not specify which.
Former US Treasury extended sanctions against Russia.