00:00 Finland will erect barriers at four of its nine border crossings with Russia from midnight
00:04 on Friday.
00:05 It wants to stem an increase in migrants that Helsinki says have been orchestrated by Moscow
00:10 in revenge for Finland's defence cooperation with the United States.
00:14 Here's Finland's Interior Minister, Mari Rantanen, speaking on Thursday.
00:19 It's clear that Russian authorities have facilitated people in crossing the border from Russia
00:27 to Finland.
00:28 It's possible that this form of illegal entry that we are now experiencing could grow and
00:37 intensify quickly and significantly.
00:41 It's already putting a strain on Finnish authorities.
00:47 Helsinki angered Moscow when it joined the NATO military alliance in April, after decades
00:51 of non-alignment following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
00:55 The Kremlin denies Finland's accusations, with the TASS, a news agency, reporting spokesman
00:59 Dmitry Peskov had said the country was making a "big mistake" by choosing a path of confrontation.
01:06 Also speaking on Thursday, Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtinen.
01:12 Finland's eastern border is also the external border of the Schengen area, the European
01:16 Union and of NATO.
01:19 Finland is well prepared to counter any type of hybrid operations together with their partners
01:23 and allies.
01:25 We hope the pressure will ease soon and we can reopen the border crossings which are
01:30 essential for many families, diplomats and the transfer of necessary goods.
01:34 Thank you.
01:36 According to the border guard, some 300 asylum seekers, mostly from Iraq, Yemen, Somalia
01:41 and Syria, arrived in Finland this week.
01:44 According to officials, nearly 100 had entered the country from Russia by midday on Friday
01:48 alone.
01:49 But from Saturday, asylum seekers arriving via Russia will only be allowed to hand in
01:53 their applications at two northern border crossings.
01:57 Finland shares an 830-mile border with Russia that also serves as an EU external border.
02:03 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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