Finland to reopen some Russia border crossings
(VOVWORLD) - Finland will reopen two of eight crossings on its border with Russia later this week, officials said Tuesday, following a sudden influx of illegal migrants in November.
 Vehicles line up at Nuijamaa border checkpoint between Finland and Russia in Lappeenranta, Finland on November 17, 2023. (Photo: AFP/VNA) |
Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo announced that the Vaalimaa and Niirala border crossings will reopen on Thursday. Orpo warned, however, that this might not be a change for the better, and if problems continue, the border crossings will close again.
Finland, which shares a 1,340-kilometer border with Russia, saw a surge in undocumented migrants seeking asylum in November. Since August, 1,000 migrants have entered Finland without a visa across the eastern border. The migrants are from Afghanistan, Kenya, Morocco, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria and Yemen. Finland had temporarily closed all but one crossing from Russia in response to the unusually high influx of migrants, for which Finland blames Moscow.