The Secretary General of NATO warned Moscow this Tuesday that it will not be able to destabilize the countries of the political-military organization by putting migratory pressure on the borders, as Russia uses such a strategy with Finland.
“Russia uses immigration as a tool to put pressure on neighboring countries and NATO allies [Organização do Tratado do Atlântico Norte], but you won’t succeed. We remain united,” said Jens Stoltenberg at a press conference at the end of the first day of a meeting with the heads of diplomacy of the member states of the Atlantic Alliance in Brussels.
The closure of Finland’s land borders with Russia, after an unprecedented flow of migrants, it was “the right decision” to counter the Kremlin’s (Russian presidency’s) intentions, Stoltenberg claimed.
Finland’s government announced on Tuesday the total closure of its border with Russia for two weeks from Thursday, in response to the current migration crisis in Northern Europe, which Helsinki directly accuses Moscow of.
In the early hours of Thursday, the Raja-Jooseppi border post, the only one that remained operational, will close and will remain closed until December 13.
More than 700 migrants without visas or legal documentation, mainly from the Middle East and Africa, arrived in Finland this month, exponentially increasing the usual number of entries.
Finland, the most recent NATO member state (joined in April last year), shares the longest European border (1,340 kilometers) with Russia after Ukraine.
At the same press conference, Jens Stoltenberg, who will end his term as head of NATO next year after an extension due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, urged continued support for Kiev and the unity of the 31 member states in this area, recalling that Germany committed to an aid package of eight billion euros, the Netherlands for two billion euros and Romania created a specific infrastructure for training Ukrainian pilots in F-16 fighter planes.
Stoltenberg stood by the statements he made this morning and reiterated his call for the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas and Israel to extend the ceasefire so that more humanitarian aid can be sent to the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and more hostages can be released.
Source: DN
