HELSINKI (Reuters) – Finland will close all but its northernmost crossing point on its border with Russia from Friday in a bid to halt a flow of asylum seekers to the Nordic nation, Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said on Wednesday.
In recent weeks over 600 people from third countries entered Finland via Russia and sought asylum, prompting Helsinki to shut several border crossings and accuse Moscow of funneling migrants to its border. Moscow denies the charge.
After the recent closures, migrants from nations such as Yemen, Afghanistan, Kenya, Morocco, Pakistan, Somalia and Syria shifted north along the 1340-km border to Vartius and Salla, two border stations that still accepted asylum applications, Finland said.
Finland will close three of the four remaining border crossing points starting at midnight on Friday, leaving only the Raja-Jooseppi open.
“Raja-Jooseppi is the northernmost (border crossing) and it requires a real effort to get there,” Orpo told a press conference.
(Reporting by Essi Lehto; Editing by Alexandra Hudson and Christina Fincher)
