(Dan Tri) – The Finnish government plans to amend border laws to allow the construction of a fence on the eastern border with Russia.
Signs are erected in the Russian-Finnish border area in Imatra, Finland (Photo: Reuters).
According to Reuters, the Finnish government has rushed to strengthen border security because of concerns that Russia may seek to pressure the country by sending refugees to Finland’s border, similar to the Union’s accusations.
The Finnish government’s plan to amend border laws includes a proposal to focus on accepting asylum applications only at specific entry points.
Under current EU regulations, migrants have the right to apply for asylum at any point of entry into an EU member state.
The law amendment also allows Finland to build new fences and roads to facilitate border patrols on the Finnish side.
The 1,300 km long common border between Russia and Finland (Photo: BBC).
A video shared by Reuters in May showed a convoy of about a dozen military vehicles, including seven vehicles carrying Iskander missiles, moving on a highway.
The above information was given in the context of Finland announcing its decision to apply to join NATO, ending its decades-long policy of neutrality.
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned on May 16 that Russia has no problem with Finland or Sweden joining NATO, but Moscow will react if NATO expands military infrastructure in these two countries.
Last month, Vice Chairman of the Russian National Security Council Dmitry Medvedev emphasized that Moscow could deploy nuclear weapons and hypersonic missiles in Kaliningrad province if Finland and Sweden become members of the military alliance.
RAO Nordic, a subsidiary of Russian energy group Inter RAO in Finland, announced that it will stop exporting electricity to Finland from May 14 because it has not received payment to the parent company in Russia.
Finnish gas company Gasum also announced that Russia’s Gazprom group will stop supplying gas to Finland from May 21.
