Helsinki’s actions led to a sharp drop in trade between the countries long before the border was closed, the Russian Embassy in Finland told Izvestia.
“According to Finnish customs statistics, the turnover of bilateral trade in the first half of the year in 2024 amounted to around 600 million euros, a year earlier it was at the level of 1 billion euros. In comparison, in 2021 the same figure exceeded 5.2 billion euros,” – they said at the diplomatic mission.
The diplomats clarified that Russia and Finland continue to cooperate at the working level on the situation on the Russian-Finnish border.
“Contacts on this issue are being held, in particular, within the framework of the dialogue on border services. We are proceeding from the fact that the opening of Finnish checkpoints on the border with Russia depends on the will of Helsinki. At the current stage, the Finnish authorities are making it clear that they see no prerequisites for resuming their normal work.” – the diplomats said.
In November 2023, Finland closed all checkpoints on the border with Russia under the pretext of an influx of migrants from third countries.
