Go to mediabankFinnish checkpoint on the Finnish-Russian border near the village of Ivalo in the Inari community of Lappi province in Finland. File photoHELSINKI, Sep 29Finland will close its border to tourists from Russia next night, the country's largest newspaper Helsingin Sanomat writes, citing sources. «New border rules should come into force as early as Thursday evening if only the government at its meeting, which starts today at 13:00, will not change the schedule that has already been tentatively agreed,» the post reads. />Finland will ban the transit of Russians on Schengen visas of other countries As Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto reported on September 23, the authorities made a fundamental decision to ban Russian citizens from entering for tourism purposes or for transit to other EU countries. In addition, owning real estate in Finland will no longer be a basis for obtaining a visa. Since September 19, Finland has remained the only EU border country whose land border is open to Russians. At an informal meeting in Prague on September 1, the EU foreign ministers agreed to suspend the agreement with Russia on simplifying the issuance of visas. The acquisition process has become longer, more complicated and more expensive. As Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, commenting on these decisions, Moscow is not going to be like Brussels in its unreasonable policy of «burning bridges» between people, but reserves the right to retaliate.
Finland will restrict entry to Russians
