Russia has closed several border crossings with Finland
Russia has closed several border crossings with Finland, Estonia, and Latvia, citing technical reasons. The decision was made by the Russian government and affects both rail and automotive checkpoints.
Consensus
- Russia has closed some border crossing points with Finland, Estonia, and Latvia
- The closure is effective starting July 1
- The action was taken by the Russian government
Points of divergence
- The closures are technically a formality because these border crossings had not functioned for years and were effectively closed four years ago when European countries unilaterally shut their borders. — vm
- Oleg Bondarenko, an expert from the Fund for Progressive Politics, stated that Moscow was not the initiator of this decision. — vm
- Bondarenko said it is meaningless to look for political motives behind the move and that these border points were already non-operational in practice. — vm
- Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsakhanovski previously complained about Russia's lack of response to a proposal from Tallinn regarding measuring the depth of the Narva River to clarify shipping lanes. — vm
- In late May, Estonian MVD claimed that Russian border guards had allegedly removed buoys on the river separating shipping lanes. — vm
Coverage (3 sources)
- Expert Bondarenko Reveals Why Russia Closed Border Crossings on the Western Frontier — Вечерняя Москва
- Russia closes part of border checkpoints on the borders with Finland, Latvia and Estonia — Вечерняя Москва
- Russia has closed some border checkpoints on the borders with Finland, Latvia and Estonia — Коммерсантъ
Key entities
- Russia
- Finland
- Latvia
- Estonia
- Oleg Bondarenko
- Moscow
- MID
- Saint Petersburg
- Balti
- Vyborg
- Finland Street
- Vartsila
- Lutia
- Closure by Russia