The Russian government has announced that it has expelled nine Finnish diplomats and, in addition, withdrawn consent granted to Finland for its consular operations in the country’s second largest city, St. Petersburg.
Russia made this known ahead of the annual NATO heads of state and government alliance summit scheduled to be held in the city of Vilnius, Lithuania.
The Russian government, through the Foreign Ministry, summoned the Finnish Ambassador to Russia, Antti Helantera, and a note of protest was presented to him.
Zakharova, a spokesperson for the Russia Foreign Ministry, confirmed this at a briefing with the media: the Finnish ambassador “was presented with a resolute protest over the confrontational anti-Russian policy pursued by the Finnish authorities.”
The recent decision by St. Petersburg wasn’t unconnected to months of breakdowns in diplomatic relations between Finland and Russia. Zakharova blamed Finland for the unresolved differences brewing between them, which have led to escalating tensions in the region.
During her briefing, she said that Finland’s policy “is aimed at dismantling Russian-Finnish relations of mutually beneficial cooperation, which have been formed over decades, and rupturing multifaceted trade-related, economic, and interregional interaction and direct contacts between citizens.”
Therefore, Russia’s decision was largely a response to Finland’s threat and action against its diplomats and for recently joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
A part of the statement by another Russian official says, “The parameters of Finland’s accession to NATO that are being discussed now pose a threat to the security of the Russian Federation, and encouragement of the Kyiv regime to go to war and pump it with Western weapons means obviously hostile actions against our country.”
In his response to Russia’s decision to close its consulate and expel its diplomats, the president of Finland, Sauli Niinisto, took to Twitter to state what Finland plans to do. Through his official handle, he said that Russia’s decision is “a harsh and unsymmetrical response to Finland’s expulsion decisions.”
President Niinisto further stated that Finland will retaliate in equal measure by closing down Russia’s consulate in Turku, Finland.
It could be recalled that one of the major reasons behind Russia’s war in Ukraine was to halt Ukraine’s decision to join NATO. And in a direct response, the Finnish government swiftly took the decision to join NATO. Finland’s decision to join NATO was followed by weeks of condemnation from the Russian government. Some months after joining NATO, the Finnish government expelled nine Russian diplomats amid rising tensions between them. And on May 17, the Russian government froze the accounts of the Finnish embassy.
The U.S. president, Joe Biden, is expected to leave for Finland after the summit. His visit is expected to heighten the already existing tension in the region, considering Russia’s stance against U.S. activities with its neighbors.
However, a statement from Zakharova states that Russia will begin the enforcement of the closure of the Finnish consulate on October 1.
