Finland's Foreign Minister, Elina Valtonen, has told DW Moscow's threats against her country for closing its borders don't worry them. Finland closed its border with Russia after a sudden increase in the arrival of refugees which Helsinki says had been orchestrated by Moscow.
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00:00 Thank you very much for being with us, Minister Valttonen.
00:02 So Russia warned Finland not to close the land borders completely,
00:06 and it continues to say that it may take countermeasures against Finland for doing this.
00:11 Are you confident that this will solve the problem,
00:14 and are you worried at all about what the Kremlin may come up with next?
00:17 Well, Russia is engaging in a hybrid operation against Finland,
00:21 and we had to take concrete, robust measures in order to counter this offensive.
00:29 And yes, we decided to close our entire eastern border,
00:32 and we hope this is a strong enough signal, first of all, to Russia,
00:36 that we can't accept this kind of operation taking place.
00:41 And the second thing is, of course, that we want to warn third-country citizens
00:46 not to engage in Russia's very ruthless game,
00:51 because those people essentially will also endanger their lives,
00:55 because the winter has arrived, we have up to -25 degrees Celsius cold up there,
01:04 or along our border, so yes, we had to act decisively.
01:10 Well, few countries are as experienced in hybrid tactics from Russia as you are,
01:14 but again, are you worried about what they may come up with next,
01:17 if now they're not going to succeed in pushing migrants over your border?
01:21 We are not worried, we are prepared, and together with our partners and allies,
01:25 we will take all measures which are needed.
01:28 But again, we want to tell Russia that this is not acceptable,
01:32 and we hope that they go back to normal, where they respect the normal border procedures
01:37 and do not let people to cross the border without valid documentation.
01:42 But just because you don't let them through doesn't mean Russia won't continue shuttling them
01:46 and, you know, massing them along the border.
01:48 So are you worried that this still could create a humanitarian situation
01:52 that puts pressure on your government?
01:54 And how can you ensure that anybody there who may have a legitimate asylum claim
01:58 can lodge it as is required by law?
02:00 If there's a humanitarian issue, those people are travelling under a Russian visa,
02:05 so if somebody's responsible, it's Russia.
02:08 And the second thing is that we are, of course, adhering to our international obligations,
02:14 and there's also a possibility to apply for asylum in Finland.
02:19 And thirdly, these measures are, of course, only temporary,
02:23 and we hope we can go back to normal in this.
02:26 And I have to say as well that it's very clear here in NATO
02:30 and among our European Union friends that this is a hybrid operation,
02:35 and this has nothing to do with normal migration or asylum seeking.
02:40 How can people lodge asylum applications now?
02:42 It's very difficult to get to the airport, should they have a legitimate claim.
02:46 Well, we do have this process open at the Helsinki airport,
02:54 and this measure of closing the entire border will only take two weeks for now.
02:59 So looking ahead to the rest of this week and Russia,
03:03 Sergei Lavrov is now going to be at the OSCE meeting,
03:06 and your Baltic neighbours are asking countries to reconsider
03:10 whether they want to sit there with him.
03:11 I know you've said you'll have strong words for Minister Lavrov,
03:15 but doesn't this seem like you're back to business as usual
03:19 if he's sitting at the same table with you?
03:21 We're absolutely not back to business as usual,
03:23 but then again, it has to be noted that the OSCE,
03:26 when it was formed almost 50 years ago,
03:29 the entire idea was not to have a club of like-minded nations around the same table,
03:34 but to have a dialogue between countries who do not perhaps share the same values.
03:40 And unfortunately, we're in the same place today as well.
03:43 We will have definitely strong words,
03:45 and I know that our friends, our NATO friends and EU friends,
03:48 will have the same towards Lavrov.
03:52 We are condemning their actions, their illegal actions in Ukraine,
03:57 but we also respect the organisation of OSCE,
04:01 and we can't have Russia hijack the entire organisation for their own purpose.
04:06 So it's a stronger message to go sit there and look him in the eyes
04:09 and say what exactly.
04:11 We do this for the OSCE,
04:13 also our partners in the Eastern Caucasus and countries
04:19 who struggle also with Russian disinformation and malign activities in the region.
04:25 So the OSCE is important on so many levels to all countries,
04:29 and again, we can't have Russia taking the entire organisation as hostage.
04:35 Thank you very much, Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valttonen.
04:37 Thank you.
04:38 [BLANK_AUDIO]