[ad_1]
Officials guarding Finland’s 1,300-kilometer (800-mile) border with Russia have called for a fence to help prevent a potentially uncontrolled mass entry from the east.
The Finnish Border Guard said in a news release on Wednesday that Finland should build a 260-kilometer fence in the most dangerous places along the demarcation line. It said physical barriers were “essential” in order to slow and control any crowds.
The decision to implement the plans will see Finland join peers such as Lithuania, Latvia and Poland in erecting barriers on its eastern border. The Nordic country has cut off trade with Russia and is seeking to join a NATO defense alliance after Russia launched an all-out attack on Ukraine earlier this year. It recently cut the number of visas it issues to Russian tourists and plans to further restrict their entry, after the three Baltic states and Poland already acted.
read more: Video: Part of Putin’s military call-up sparks mass protests in Russia
Finland already has relatively new experience with mass entry from the East. In the winters of 2015 and 2016, dozens of asylum seekers from Asia and the Middle East suddenly began crossing borders in the remote Arctic from Russia, a move that officials eventually concluded could be part of a mix of attacks planned by Moscow.
The fence could cost “hundreds of millions of euros” and the final decision rests with the government. Construction will take three to four years to complete, and the works include technical supervision and road construction in addition to the fencing.
[ad_2]
Source link