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Opening the border between Finland and Russia is not realistic at the moment, Finnish Defense Minister Antti Häkkinen told Yle.
“We are not going to open the border. We know that Russia wants to continue directing the flow of migrants to Finland immediately,” Häkkinen said.
Earlier, Russian Ambassador to Finland Pavel Kuznetsov suggested opening the border. Häkkinen noted that Russia’s words and actions do not align.
“We must take common security seriously. Whether it’s border security, cables, or real estate deals, we need to strengthen control in these areas.”
According to Häkkinen, Russia often glosses over its actions, even though it caused the breakdown in relations with its neighbors.
“They attacked Chechnya, Georgia, Crimea, and then full-scale Ukraine. Russia has killed and injured hundreds of thousands and seized a significant part of its neighbor’s territory,” he said.
Häkkinen argued that if Russia truly wants to engage with its neighbors, it must first change its behavior. In the current situation, Russia cannot expect continued tourism and trade.
“The first step to improving relations would be for Russia to stop military operations in Ukraine and withdraw from the occupied territories. While the attack continues, it is difficult to forget what Russia has done in the past three years.”
In an interview with Keskisuomalainen, Häkkinen accused Russia of hypocrisy, noting that the current dialogue between the countries may only concern border cooperation and the work of embassies.
“Trust has been lost because Russia attacked Ukraine and issued ultimatums to all of Europe.”
He also emphasized the importance of a unified EU and NATO stance on Russia, which seeks to divide Europe through dialogue with individual countries.
Read also: “A Very Good Start”: EU Ambassador on Plans to Deploy 30,000 “Peacekeepers” in Ukraine
