Two more countries consider closing borders with Russia

Thêm hai nước tính đóng cửa biên giới với Nga - 1 — Storskog border gate on the Norway-Russia border (Photo: AFP).

Norway's TV2 channel quoted Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store on November 22 as saying that Norway could "follow in Finland's footsteps" and close its land border with Russia "if necessary."

On the same day, Estonian Interior Minister Lauri Laanemets accused Russia of conducting "a coordinated offensive operation" to push migrants to the border, and said Estonia was prepared to close border crossings if "migrant pressure from Russia escalates," Reuters reported.

"Unfortunately, there are many signs that Russian border officials and other agencies are involved. Frankly, the ongoing migratory pressure on Europe's eastern borders is a coordinated offensive operation," Minister Laanemets warned.

Speaking at a press conference, the Norwegian Prime Minister said the government is closely monitoring the situation at border crossings in both Finland and Estonia.

The only legal land border crossing between Norway and Russia is called Storskog and is located in the far northeast of Norway.

Thêm hai nước tính đóng cửa biên giới với Nga - 2 — Map of Russia (Photo: TRT).

Previously, on November 22, Finland announced that it would close all border gates, except the northernmost border gate with Russia due to the increasing number of asylum seekers.

Finland's decision is expected to take effect on November 24. Helsinki accuses Russia of orchestrating the migration flow in retaliation for Finland joining NATO, which Moscow denies.

According to the Finnish Border Guard, around 600 undocumented migrants arrived in the country in November, compared with a few dozen in previous months. These migrants were foreigners who had traveled through Russia from third countries such as Iraq, Syria, Türkiye and Somalia.

Finnish Defence Minister Antti Hakkanen described the border closure as "a clear message to Russia", which he said was using migrants to "accelerate the migrant crisis in Europe and destabilise its unity".

Finland shares a 1,340km border with Russia. Relations between Russia and Finland have deteriorated significantly since the conflict in Ukraine began in February 2022.

Finland became a NATO member this summer, a move that reflects Finland's growing concerns about its national security following Russia's military campaign in Ukraine.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Moscow is ready for dialogue with Helsinki on the border situation after Finland decided to close its border crossings.

Ms Zakharova also mentioned that Helsinki made decisions on the border situation "without consulting the Russian border guards or any contact with the Russian side through any channels".

Source