Russia has frozen the bank accounts of diplomatic missions of Finland in the Russian Federation, Helsingin Sanomat writes.
The situation became known on April 27. Since then, Finland has been discussing this issue with the Russians. The head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland Pekka Haavisto informed that the Russians sent a note, but they have not yet received an official explanation from the Russian Federation. He also explained that due to the blocking of accounts, there were difficulties in paying bills, in particular for rent and electricity. According to Haavisto, the situation does not affect the payment of salaries to employees of diplomatic missions.
The Finnish minister also emphasized that his country monitors the safety of embassy employees and takes potential threats seriously. The President Sauli Niinisto called freezing the accounts of Finnish embassies in Russia an excessive measure.
- The Finnish embassy in Moscow and the consulate general in St. Petersburg currently operate in Russia. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland closed the offices of the Consulate General in Petrozavodsk and Murmansk at the beginning of 2023.