Nine diplomats expelled
Russia closes Finnish consulate in St. Petersburg
07/06/2023, 7:40 p.m
In June, the Finnish government expelled nine Russian ambassadors. Russia is now following suit. Nine Finnish diplomats have to leave the country. Finland’s consulate general is also to be closed. This further aggravated the tense situation.
In response to the expulsion of Russian embassy employees from Finland, Moscow is now expelling nine Finnish diplomats from the country. In addition, the Finnish Consulate General in St. Petersburg will be closed from October 1, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. According to a statement, the Moscow foreign office summoned the Finnish ambassador Antti Helantera and accused Finland of a “confrontational anti-Russian policy” in many areas. Among other things, Russians are discriminated against when issuing entry visas to Finland. On top of that, Finland’s accession to NATO poses a threat to Russia’s security. Finland has been a member of the defense alliance since the beginning of April.
In return, Finland could close the Russian consulate general in Turku, Finnish President Sauli Niinistö hinted on Twitter. He described Russia’s actions as a tough Russian reaction to the deportations decided by Finland. The northernmost country in the EU, which borders Russia over a distance of 1,340 kilometers, closed its border to Russian tourists in September 2022.
Finland previously expelled Russian ambassadors
Even if there are exceptions, the number of border crossings in both directions has fallen immensely since then. The Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs also announced that non-essential travel by Russian citizens to Finland and via Finland to the rest of the Schengen area will remain restricted until further notice. In addition, the restrictions for business travelers, property owners and students would be tightened from Monday.
In June, Finland had already expelled nine employees of the Russian embassy in Helsinki on charges of espionage. Since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine more than 16 months ago, there has been a spate of mutual expulsions of diplomats from Western countries and Russia.