Finland closes Russian border for 2 weeks to stop asylum seekers

A view of closed gates at the Raja-Jooseppi international border crossing station before its opening in Inari, northern Finland on November 24, 2023. Lehtikuva/Emmi Korhonen via REUTERS/File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights

HELSINKI, Nov 28 (Reuters) – Finland will close its entire border with Russia to travellers for the next two weeks in a bid to halt a flow of asylum seekers to the Nordic nation, the government said on Tuesday.

Finland last week shut all but one of its remaining border posts to travellers from Russia, keeping open only the northernmost crossing located in the Arctic. But this too would now close, allowing only goods transport, the government said.

Some 900 asylum seekers from nations including Kenya, Morocco, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria and Yemen have entered Finland from Russia in November, an increase from less than one per day previously, according to the Finnish Border Guard.

The decision means only freight traffic can pass between the two countries.

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