Russia will be ramping down its consular presence in Finland and Russia, with the closure of consulates taking effect from 1 July, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced, citing Finland’s decision to join NATO.
Russia will close its consulate in the city of Lappeenranta in Finland, and revoke consent for the operation of the Finnish Consulate’s Petrozavodsk and Murmansk offices, the ministry announced. A note was handed to Finland’s ambassador in Moscow.
Finland has chosen a ”confrontational course” and has abandoned its ”policy of non-participation in military alliances” by joining NATO, the Russian ministry said to justify its decision.
“At the initiative of the Finnish side, the bilateral political dialogue has been curtailed, multifaceted trade and economic cooperation has been destroyed,” the Russian Foreign Ministry wrote in a statement.
“The network of twinning ties of cities and regions, dense cross-border cooperation has been severed, aviation and railway communications have been stopped,” the statement added.
(Pekka Vänttinen | EURACTIV.com)
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