Finland has begun building a 200-kilometer-long fence on the border with Russia to prevent Moscow from using migrant flows for political purposes. This comes as Finnish MPs vote on Wednesday afternoon to speed up the process to join the NATO military alliance.
Terrain work would begin on Tuesday “with forest clearance and will proceed in such a way that road construction and fence installation can begin in March,” the Finnish border guard said in a statement.
The three-kilometer pilot project at the southeastern border crossing in Imatra is expected to be completed by the end of June, it added.
The construction of another 70 kilometers, mainly in southeastern Finland, will take place between 2023 and 2025.
In total, Finland plans to fence 200 kilometers of its 1,300-kilometer border with Russia at a cost of around 380 million euros (about 400 million dollars).
The fence will be over three meters (10 feet) high with barbed wire on top, with particularly sensitive areas equipped with night vision cameras, lights and speakers.
Fundamental change
Currently, Finland’s borders are secured primarily by light wooden fences, primarily designed to stop livestock from wandering to the wrong side.
Fearing that Moscow could use migrants to exert political pressure on Helsinki, NATO candidate Finland in July adopted new amendments to its border guard law to facilitate the construction of stronger fences.
Kremlin warns Finland’s bid to join NATO, Sweden will not improve security
Although the border between Finland and Russia has “functioned well” in the past, Brigadier General Jari Tolppanen told AFP in November that the war in Ukraine had changed the security situation “fundamentally”.
He said the border fence was “indispensable” to stop large-scale illegal entry from Russian territory.
Finland saw an influx of Russians in September after President Vladimir Putin ordered the mobilization of reservists to fight in Ukraine.
Estonia, Latvia and Poland have also increased security at their borders with Russia or plan to do so.
Speed โโup the process
Meanwhile, Finland’s parliament moved closer on Tuesday to speeding up its bid to join NATO, increasing the likelihood that it would leave neighboring Sweden behind to quickly enter the transatlantic defense pact.
Both Finland and Sweden dropped their decades-long policy of military non-alignment and applied to join the alliance in May in the wake of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
But with fewer diplomatic obstacles than Stockholm, Helsinki wants to move ahead even before Finland’s general election in April, as public opinion also supports membership.
A vote is planned by Finnish MPs on Wednesday afternoon to speed up the membership process, as the two countries have the support of all but two of NATO’s 30 members, led by Hungary and Turkey.
Many Finnish lawmakers have pushed for legislation confirming Finland’s acceptance of the terms of the NATO treaty even before the April 2 election.
Only a handful of MPs voiced opposition during Tuesday’s debate.
Nuclear presence feared
Markus Mustajarvi of the Left Alliance party – which has previously been vocal in its opposition to NATO – asked parliament to strike the bill, triggering a vote ahead of Wednesday.
Mustajarvi’s criticism focused on the lack of guarantees that nuclear weapons would not be placed in Finland.
“Finland must act in such a way that its actions ease, not increase, tensions between nuclear powers,” said Johannes Yrttiaho, another MP from the Left Alliance.
NATO holds European nuclear drills as war tensions simmer in Russia
But Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto told MPs that “this decision and legislation will not change Finland’s position on nuclear weapons”.
“The time is now to ratify and to fully welcome Finland and Sweden as members,” NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday during a visit to Finland.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu announced on Monday that negotiations between Turkey, Finland and Sweden would resume on March 9, after talks with Sweden were suspended due to a row over protests held in Stockholm, including the burning of the Koran in front of the Turkish embassy.
(via AFP)
Source: sn.dk