Finland is currently struggling with an increasing number of migrants crossing the Russian border without documents.
Unlike before, Russia is allowing them to continue their journey to Finland despite the lack of documents, Interior Minister Mari Rantanen said on Tuesday, as broadcaster YLE reported. “This is a case of illegal entry,” she criticized at a press conference.
Rantanen said the government is considering limiting the number of border crossings or creating central crossings. A border closure is also conceivable, but the government cannot immediately take the strictest measures.
Refugees from the Middle East
According to the information, 71 people without valid papers were registered at the border last week, and on Monday and Tuesday there were a total of 60. Most of them came from the Middle East. Some spent some time in Russia. Others just got through it, as they said.
Asylum seekers with bicycles
Border guards told the television channel on Monday that Russia was allowing asylum seekers to cross the border by bicycle, while Finland had banned this in the southeast since Thursday.
The deputy head of the border protection area for southeastern Finland, Jukka Lukkari, said that people came last week from Iraq, Syria, Yemen and Somalia, among others, and there were no Ukrainians there. At least in some cases, international criminal groups are involved in the entry.
Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen announced that she would raise the issue at the meeting of EU foreign ministers next week.
Source: Krone
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