Moscow blames Finland, West for border issues

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zaharova commented on the situation at the Finnish-Russian border during a press conference on Friday.

“There have been 415 cases [of asylum seekers crossing the border] recorded at the checkpoints in southeastern Finland, after Finland decided to close them in the first place. It is clear that this is not an uncontrolled flow of migrants from Russia,” Zaharova said.

She added that the situation at the Finnish border is a sign of double standards or a lack of standards.

Zaharova further stated that it is possible the “collective” Western nations are encouraging asylum seekers to leave Russia and head to Finland.

She also noted that the migrants come from other countries, such as Somalia, Syria and Yemen.

This story is posted on the Barents Observer as part of Eye on the Arctic, a collaborative partnership between public and private circumpolar media organizations.

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