MOSCOW, April 18 Head of the Duma Committee on CIS Affairs Leonid Kalashnikov proposed to denounce the agreement with Finland on the Saimaa Canal, since Russia has a ban on the transportation of goods from NATO countries.
«Since they (Finland — ed.) decided to join NATO, we have to make a decision — they canceled all trains, all buses, and we still … We have the Saimaa Canal, which runs along of our territory, which transports goods to the center of Finland. We have a ban on the transportation of goods of NATO member countries … We signed this agreement 50 years ago (via the channel — ed.), it must be denounced, «Kalashnikov said at the plenary session.
The Saimaa Canal is a navigable canal between Lake Saimaa in Finland and the Baltic Sea. Opened in 1856, reconstructed in 1963-1968. The total length of the canal is 57.3 kilometers, of which 23.3 kilometers belong to Finland and 34 kilometers to Russia. The Russian part of the canal and the adjacent territory are leased by Finland. The maximum capacity of the canal for the navigation period is 11.5 thousand vessels in both directions, the maximum cargo turnover is estimated at 4.6 million tons. The duration of navigation is set annually by agreement of the parties, depending on ice conditions.
Agreement between the USSR and the Republic of Finland on the lease of the Soviet part of the Saimaa Canal and Maly Vysotsky Island to the Republic of Finland entered into force in 1963 and ceased to be valid in 2012, after the signing of the International Treaty in 2010 between the Russian Federation and Finland on the lease by Finland of the Russian part of the Saimaa Canal and the territory adjacent to it and on the implementation of navigation through the Saimaa Canal.