STT: No new crossings on Finland's southeastern border

All crossing points on the land border between Finland and Russia are closed until mid-February.

Vaalimaa border checkpoint
Pictured here: The Vaalimaa crossing point, where Finnish authorities have set up barricades some 300 metres from the border station. Image: Kari Saastamoinen / Yle
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The Southeast Finland Border Guard on Saturday said it had not recorded any new illegal crossings, reports Finnish news agency STT.

On Friday, the border authority said it had detained 11 Iranian men on suspicion of attempting to enter the country illegally on Thursday.

The men had tried to cross from Russia into Finland near the city of Lappeenranta, between the Nuijamaa border checkpoint and the town of Joutseno. The group applied for asylum in Finland following their detainment.

Since last August 1,323 asylum seekers have arrived in Finland via the eastern border, according to Antti Lehtinen, the head of the asylum unit of the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri).

On Thursday, the government decided that Finland's eastern border will remain closed until 11 February.

Finland shut all eight checkpoints along its eastern frontier with Russia in December, amid suspicions that Russian authorities were deliberately funneling undocumented asylum seekers to Finnish crossings.

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