Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (NCP) on Sunday said Finland is prepared to completely close its eastern border.
Speaking to the press during the prime minister's question hour on Yle Radio 1, he said asylum-seeking migrants were still arriving at the Raja-Jooseppi border station in the Arctic north. Despite its remote location, 55 migrants on Saturday crossed through this checkpoint, which is the only one still open.
Finland shuttered this checkpoint in Lapland for the day on Sunday afternoon.
Orpo noted that while Finland has a 1300-kilometre unfenced border with Russia, the government can legally close all eastern checkpoints. Should that happen, Orpo said asylum seekers could apply for international protection at ports or at Helsinki Airport.
The PM said that sending people back to Russia was difficult, as Russia was preventing returns from the border zone. "People are being pushed to the border and not allowed back," he said, adding that the situation was turning Finns more against Russia.
"Russia shamelessly exploits citizens of third countries," he said of Moscow's efforts to destabilise western countries.
More than 800 migrants have arrived in Finland since August. Finnish officials have accused Russia of driving the migrants to the border as retaliation for Finland's membership in Nato.
Reports have emerged of Russian border authorities not only letting people without proper documentation through to the Finnish border, but also actively guiding them to the border zone.
This week's All Points North podcast asks why Finland has struggled to close the border, and what its obligations are to those seeking asylum. Listen to the episode via this embedded player, on Yle Areena, Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
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