a The northern country already reduced the number of visas granted to Russians to 10 in September in response to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, but it is currently the only European Union member bordering Russia to allow entry to Russian citizens. With Schengen visas.
In this regard, Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said that the Finnish government “has decided to prepare a national solution to limit or completely ban the crossing of Russian tourists.”
He added that the measures “may include new legislation that is adopted very quickly or an interpretation of the law in force.”
“Finland does not want to be a transit country for Schengen visas issued by other countries. We are determined to control this movement,” the minister said.
Helsinki stressed that Helsinki calls for a coordinated European decision, but “I cannot be sure that it will happen quickly.”
An opinion poll published by the newspaper Ilta Sanomat, Wednesday, showed that about 70% of Finns want to end issuing tourist visas to Russian citizens.
After Vladimir Putin announced hundreds of thousands of reservists had been mobilized to re-launch the Russian offensive in Ukraine, border traffic was “normal,” according to the Finnish border guard.
The unit wrote on Twitter that the situation “has not changed significantly”, denying rumors circulating on the Internet about queues of several kilometers long to enter the country.
Read also: EU maintains military aid to Ukraine, increases sanctions on Russia
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