IMATRA, Finland — The buildingandconstruction of barbed-wired fence along Finland’s long border with Russia – mainly indicated to curb unlawful migration – has damaged ground near the southeastern town of Imatra less than 2 weeks after the Nordic nation signedupwith NATO as the 31st member of the military alliance.
The Finnish Border Guard on Friday showcased the structure of the preliminary 3 kilometer (1.8 mile) stretch of the fence to be setup in Pelkola near a crossing point off Imatra, a peaceful lakeside town of some 25,000 individuals.
Finland’s 1,340 kilometer (832 mile) border with Russia is the longest of any European Union member.
Construction of the border fence is an effort by the border guard that was authorized by Prime Minister Sanna Marin’s federalgovernment inthemiddleof broad political assistance last year. The primary function of the three-meter (10-foot) high steel fence with a barbed-wire extension on top is to avoid unlawful migration from Russia and provide response time to authorities, Finnish border authorities state.
In 2015-2016, Moscow tried to impact Finland by arranging big numbers of asylum-seekers to northern Finnish crossing points in the Arctic Lapland area. Russian authorities were seen intentionally ushering thousands of asylum-seekers – primarily from Iraq, Afghanistan and other Middle East countries – to those border crossing points.
The relocation was seen as a program of muscle by Moscow. The problem was settled when Finnish President Sauli Niinistö held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The circulation of migrants stopped soon afterwards.
This is a circumstance that Finland – a country 5.5 million individuals that formally endedupbeing a NATO member on April 4 –