The President of Finland called the closure of the consulate in St. Petersburg a headache

The closure of the consulate in St. Petersburg has become a new headache for Finland, retaliatory measures are being prepared, said President Sauli Niiniste. About this writes the publication Yle with reference to the agency STT.

Russia’s decision to deport nine employees of the Finnish embassy in Moscow was in line with expectations, Niiniste said, but the announcement of the closure of the consulate general in St. Petersburg was a “completely new discovery.”

“We know that many other countries have had a similar experience, in itself such a “surprise” is not unique. But the fact that it happened in the current circumstances is, of course, [неожиданным]”, – said president (translation by TASS).

Earlier, Niiniste announced that Finland was preparing response measures to Russia’s decision to close the country’s consulate general in St. Petersburg. On his Twitter, he called Russia’s decision to close the Consulate General a “brutal and asymmetrical response” to Finland’s expulsion of Russian diplomats.

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.

The Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs also reported that from July 10, they are tightening entry rules for Russian students, property owners and business travelers. 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.