HELSINKI: Finland’s government said on Tuesday it will reopen two crossings on its long border with Russia on Thursday after closing all eight roads between the two countries in late November to prevent an influx of asylum seekers.
“Without dismantling the restrictions, we cannot verify whether a change for the better is taking place. If the phenomenon continues, we will close these border crossing points,” Prime Minister Petteri Orpo told a press conference.
Finland last month shut the Russian border until Dec. 13 to block a rising number of refugees from arriving in the Nordic nation in what the government and its allies said was an orchestrated move by Moscow.
Some 900 asylum seekers from nations including Kenya, Morocco, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria and Yemen entered Finland via Russia in November, an increase from less than one per day previously, according to the Finnish Border Guard.
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