Paul Goble
Staunton, Nov. 16 – In recent weeks, there has been a sharp increase in the number of people from the Russian Federation entering Finland; and Helsinki officials fear that this may be an effort to destabilize the country much as the Russian side did in northern Finland and Norway in 2015-2016.
Until recently, the Russian FSB did not allow people without Shengen visas even to approach the Finnish border; but that policy appears to have changed, opening the way for those without authorization to try to pass into the new NATO member country (thebarentsobserver.com/en/borders/2023/11/finland-suspects-moscow-uses-migrants-stir-trouble-eastern-border ).
In response, Finland has been tightening border controls; and Helsinki says it doesn’t exclude the possibility that it will close all border traffic. This latest Russian move is particularly disturbing because it cannot be excluded that Moscow will do the same thing elsewhere along its Western borders.
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