Nine people of Russian origin have filed a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) after Finland closed its border with Russia, the Helsingin Sanomat newspaper reports.
The applicants, who are of Russian origin, believe that such actions violate their human rights "in many ways", as travel between Finland and Russia is an important part of their lives.
Some of the applicants complain that they can no longer see their family members who live in Russia. Others believe that the border closure violates their freedom of religion, as they can no longer visit the cemetery six times a year, as required by Orthodoxy.
In this regard, the ECHR has asked the Finnish government to explain the reasons for its decision.
It is possible that Finland's eastern border will be opened if the European Union makes certain decisions regarding relations with Russia, but this will hardly happen before the end of 2025, Ilta-Sanomat reports.
According to the publication, the Finnish government has been "mentally preparing" for some time to open the eastern border if the EU makes important decisions regarding Russia. However, there have been no official discussions on this issue yet.
Finnish President Alexander Stubb called on Finns yesterday to prepare themselves mentally for the restoration of relations with Russia. He noted that the countries have always been and will be neighbors.
"At some point, relations will open up at the political level. At this stage, we cannot say exactly when. Nothing changes the fact that Russia has been and will always be a neighbor of Finland, these are 1,350 kilometers of neighborly relations," said Stubb, adding that the leaders of the EU countries have already begun discussing contacts with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The head of state specified that Russian-Finnish relations will depend on the resolution of the conflict in Ukraine.
The press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov, in turn, stated that Russia had no problems with Finland before this country “dragged“ NATO's military infrastructure onto its territory.