Finland will prepare a “national solution” to limit or even prevent the passage of Russian tourists through its territory, the foreign minister announced on Wednesday.
The Scandinavian country already reduced the number of visas granted to Russians to a tenth in September in response to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, but it is currently the only member of the European Union bordering Russia to allow entry by citizens. . .
In this regard, the Finnish government has “decided to prepare a national solution to limit or completely prevent this transit of Russian tourists,” Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said.
The measures “may include new legislation to be passed very quickly, or an interpretation of the law in force,” he added.
“Finland does not want to be a transit country for Schengen visas issued by other countries. We intend to monitor this traffic”said the minister.
Helsinki calls for a joint European decision, but “can’t be sure it will happen soon”emphasized Haavisto.
According to a poll published on Wednesday by the Ilta-Sanomat newspaper, about 70% of Finns want to end the issuance of tourist visas for Russian citizens.
After Vladimir Putin announced that he would mobilize hundreds of thousands of reservists to relaunch the Russian offensive in Ukraine, traffic at the border was “normal”, according to the Finnish Border Guard.
The situation “has not materially changed,” the unit wrote on Twitter, denying rumors circulating on the internet about miles of queues to enter the country.
Source: DN
