Two more countries are considering closing their borders with Russia.

Storskog border crossing between Norway and Russia (Photo: AFP).

Norwegian TV2 channel quoted Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store on November 22 as saying that Norway could "follow in Finland's footsteps" and close its land border with Russia "if necessary".

On the same day, Estonian Interior Minister Lauri Laanemets accused Russia of conducting "a coordinated offensive" to bring migrants to the border, and said Estonia was prepared to close border crossings if "migration pressure from Russia escalates," Reuters reported.

"Unfortunately, there are many indications that Russian border officials and other agencies are involved. Frankly, the ongoing migration pressure at the eastern European border is a coordinated offensive," Minister Laanemets warned.

Speaking at a press conference, the Norwegian Prime Minister said that his government was closely monitoring the situation at border crossings in both Finland and Estonia.

The only legal land border crossing between Norway and Russia is called Storskog and is located in the far northeast of Norway.

Map of Russia (Photo: TRT).

Earlier, on November 22, Finland announced it would close all border crossings except the northernmost one bordering Russia due to the increasing number of asylum seekers.

Finland's decision is expected to take effect on November 24. Helsinki accuses Russia of orchestrating the migration in retaliation for Finland's accession to NATO, an accusation Moscow has denied.

According to the Finnish Border Force, around 600 undocumented migrants arrived in the country in November, compared to a few dozen in previous months. These migrants were foreigners who had traveled through Russia from third countries such as Iraq, Syria, Türkiye, and Somalia.

Finnish Defence Minister Antti Hakkanen described the border closure as "a clear message to Russia," which he said was exploiting migrants to "accelerate the migrant crisis in Europe and destabilize the unity of the country."

Finland shares a 1,340km border with Russia. Relations between Russia and Finland have deteriorated significantly since the conflict in Ukraine broke out in February 2022.

Finland became a member of NATO this summer. This move reflects Finland's growing concern for national security following Russia's military operation in Ukraine.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Moscow is ready to hold talks with Helsinki on the border situation after Finland decided to close border crossings.

Zakharova also mentioned that Helsinki made decisions about the border situation "without consulting the Russian border guards or any contact with the Russian side through any channel."

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-gioi/them-hai-nuoc-tinh-dong-cua-bien-gioi-voi-nga-20231123155659593.htm