The President of Finland announced retaliatory measures against Russia’s decision to close the Consulate General

Finland is preparing response measures to Russia’s decision to close the country’s consulate general in St. Petersburg. This was stated by Finnish President Sauli Niiniste on his Twitter.

He considers Russia’s decision to close the Consulate General “a cruel and asymmetric response” to the expulsion of Russian diplomats by Finland.

“We are preparing a similar measure. An analogue of the Consulate General in St. Petersburg in Finland is the Consulate General of Russia in Turku,” he wrote.

Earlier, on July 6, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that Russia was withdrawing its consent to the activities of the Finnish Consulate General in St. Petersburg from October 1. Finnish Ambassador Antti Helanterya was summoned to the ministry. He was strongly protested in connection with Helsinki’s anti-Russian policy. The Foreign Ministry also pointed to the June decision of the Finnish side to expel nine people who worked in the Russian embassy in the country. In response, Russia decided to expel nine employees of the Finnish Embassy in Russia and the Finnish Consulate General in St. Petersburg. Finland previously explained its decision to expel Russian diplomats by the fact that they allegedly worked in intelligence.

At the same time, the Finnish Foreign Ministry today reportedthat from July 10, entry rules for Russian students, property owners and business travelers are being tightened. For all other Russians, entry and transit will continue to be restricted.

Finland decided to restrict entry into the country for Russian citizens at the end of September 2022. Also, restrictions were imposed on the issuance of visas for Russians.