Finnish authorities do not suspect any violations of international agreements in the leased area on the Russian side of the Saimaa Canal, which links southeast Finland with Russia.
Minister of Transport, Communications and the Interior Lulu Ranne (Finns) made the statement in a response to a written inquiry from MP Suna Kymäläinen (SDP) about the safety of maintenance work in the leased area of the Saimaa canal.
The 43-kilometre canal is located half on the Finnish side and half on the Russian side.
Kymäläinen's question was based on claims by the notorious Russian extremist group Rusich that it had made an agreement with the Russian Border Guard Service to carry out intelligence and surveillance tasks along the Finnish border.
Ranne temporarily took over the interior ministry portfolio at the end of August in addition to her previous duties, while opposition MP Kymäläinen represents the South-Eastern Finland constituency.
In September, Rusich published a photo on its Telegram channel showing group members standing by the Saimaa canal at the Tsvetochnoye lock (known in Finnish as Rättijärvi), near the Finnish border, claiming to be patrolling the area.
Finland and the Soviet Union signed a lease agreement for the Saimaa Canal in 1962, renewing it in 2012. Under the deal, Russia leases the parts of the Saimaa Canal located in its territory and certain land areas adjacent to it to Finland.
Ranne: Canal safety is constantly monitored
According to Ranne, the Canal Commission and the Border Guard have exchanged information about Rusich's activities.
Based on this, there is no reason to suspect that Russia has violated the international agreements between Finland and Russia, whose compliance is monitored by the Border Guard and the Canal Commission. The Commission is made up of six Finnish officials from several ministries and agencies.
According to Ranne, Finnish authorities have been paying closer attention to Russia's activities in the leased area since Moscow began its full-scale attack on Ukraine in 2022.
The Canal Commission has called on officials to draw up joint instructions so that Finnish employees working in the leased area can get help in exceptional situations.
According to the agreement, Finnish medical and rescue personnel have access to the leased area, while Finnish authorities carry out regular inspection visits in the area.
Finland pays Russia about 1.2 million euros a year to lease the Saimaa Canal. The area around the waterway was Finnish territory until the end of the Winter War in 1940, as was the canal's endpoint, Vyborg, formerly Viipuri.
The Rusich group has a far-right ideology and is accused of involvement in atrocities in Ukraine. Yan Petrovsky, a Rusich leader also known as Voislav Torden, is in detention in Finland after he was convicted of immigration offences earlier this year.