Finland to close border with Russia over migrant crossings

Finland is closing its entire border with Russia to almost all traffic.

Seven of the eight crossing points on the border have already been shut.

The government said on Tuesday that the Raja-Jooseppi crossing, the northernmost station located within the Arctic Circle, will close on Thursday night for two weeks.

Finland has accused Russia of orchestrating the crossings, deliberately helping people without the proper documents to get to the border.

According to Finnish authorities, around 900 asylum seekers from countries including Morocco, Pakistan and Syria entered Finland from Russia in November, up from fewer than one a day on average previously.

"Finland is determined to put an end" to the crossings, Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said in a statement.

The government has progressively closed more and more border posts since the rise in crossings began earlier this month.

The Raja-Jooseppi crossing was the last road crossing to remain open, but it too will be closed by Friday.

A rail crossing will remain open for freight traffic, the government says.

Only three migrants crossed into Finland through Raja-Jooseppi on Monday and zero on Tuesday, but the government said it was taking no chances with what it characterised as a threat to national security.

Finland's non-discrimination ombudsman said last week that the crossing's remote location, around 900km (560 miles) north of Helsinki, seriously jeopardised the right to asylum under international law.

Speaking to the BBC, Matti Pitkaniitty, a colonel in the Finnish border guard, said legal concerns over maintaining Finland's obligations under international refugee law were "definitely" a reason for the progressive closure of the border.

Col Pitkaniitty said border guards had noticed clear evidence of Russian officials helping migrants cross into Finland, such as instances where Russian border points were closed after people crossed to prevent them returning.

Pia Lindfors, Executive Director of the Finnish Refugee Advice Centre, told the BBC that she feared the decision would push asylum seekers away from using official crossing points, through the hundreds of kilometres of forests and rivers making up the long border.

"Now winter has arrived, this could be even more dangerous," Ms Lindfors said.

She added that despite the closures, Finnish authorities should provide help to people in need on the Russian side of the border and not push people back into Russia, a concept in international law known as "non-refoulement".

"I have to trust that Finnish border guards will not break these fundamental principles," Ms Lindfors said.