Why does Finland refuse to discuss border tensions with Russia?

Since November 18, Finnish authorities have closed seven of the eight checkpoints on the border with Russia. Russia has not ruled out the possibility that Finnish authorities could completely close the border.

In an interview with local media on November 26, Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo affirmed that Helsinki has no intention of holding discussions with Russian authorities about tensions on the border between the two countries.

The Finnish Prime Minister made it clear that since Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine, Helsinki has had “no political discussions” with Moscow. This situation will not change until Russia’s special operation is completed.

For its part, the Kremlin has rejected the Finnish authorities' accusations of provoking the migration crisis on the border between the two countries. According to the press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov, the anti-Russian stance that the leaders of neighboring countries have now begun to follow is extremely regrettable.

Mr. Peskov also emphasized that Moscow does not accept Finland's accusations against Russian border guards.

“In this regard, our border guards fully comply with all official instructions from the Finnish side,” the Kremlin spokesman said.

At the same time, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that Moscow is ready to cooperate with Helsinki to solve the migrant problem on the Russian-Finnish border.

“It is necessary to hold consultations between the Finnish and Russian border guards, put all the concerns or requests of the Finnish side on the negotiating table, consider them, find a mutually acceptable solution or get an explanation. This is the way it should be done. And we are ready for such work,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Sputnik.

Explaining the Finnish government's moves, analysts say that the Helsinki government is aggravating relations with Moscow to the maximum extent, as a way to prove its membership in NATO.

Analysts explain the Finnish government's actions as aimed at aggravating relations with Russia to the maximum extent in order to justify the country's hasty entry into NATO.

“NATO member states are mostly anti-Russian. Therefore, Finland, which is already a NATO country, is now rebuilding its foreign policy, especially towards Russia. Helsinki will need to put the interests of the alliance, along with national interests. At the same time, it will be strongly opposed to Russia. Finland is on the path of transforming its ideological values ​​and domestic policy, and then restructuring its relations with its neighbors,” said Andrei Koshkin, an expert at the Association of Military-Political Scientists, head of the Department of Political Analysis and Social Psychology at the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics.

Analyst Koshkin believes that the massive migration of third-country nationals, especially from the Middle East and North Africa, to Europe is largely the fault of Washington and Brussels. Russia, therefore, is not the driving force behind the migration, but rather a natural transit point on the way to Finland, due to its geographical location.

Vadim Kozyulin, head of the Center for Global Studies and International Relations at the Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Foreign Ministry, described Helsinki’s stance as clearly unfriendly in a conversation with RT. The analyst said that this is a continuation of the policy that led to the severance of relations and confrontation with Russia.

According to Mr. Kozyulin, relations between Finland and Russia have been estranged for several years, although previously both sides had quite stable relations.

"The good relationship is now broken. Of course, Finland suffers economic and financial losses with the closure of the border. But this demonstrates the role of the Finnish government. Helsinki does everything to demonstrate 'Western unity', and Helsinki's consistent attitude towards Moscow," political scientist Kozyulin argued./.