Finnish President Sauli Niinistö said that freezing the bank accounts of the country’s diplomatic missions in Russia goes beyond similar measures used to restrict the Russian embassy. The politician said this on May 17 in an interview with the STT agency.
“The freezing of the bank accounts of the Finnish diplomatic missions in Russia goes far beyond the restrictions imposed on the financial operations of the Russian embassy in Helsinki. Freezing accounts as a retaliatory measure by Russia is excessive,” he said.
According to Niinistö, under the conditions of the lockdown, it will be necessary to think over how to ensure the work of the Consulate General of Finland in St. Petersburg and the embassy in Moscow, Gazeta.Ru clarifies.
Earlier Wednesday, the Finnish Foreign Ministry said that the bank accounts of the country’s representative offices in Russia were frozen. According to Helsinki, the situation is serious and “the case is being investigated.” Later, the Finnish Foreign Ministry announced the continuation of the work of its representative offices in the Russian Federation.
In addition, Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto noted that Helsinki would not close the republic’s diplomatic missions. Processing cash flows will be labor intensive, he stressed.
The actions of the Russian Federation were a response to the measures taken by the Finnish side regarding the freezing of Russian assets in the country. For example, on April 1, the Finnish Debt Collection Authority blocked the bank accounts of the Russian Center for Science and Culture (RCSC) in Nordea, and on April 19, the Finnish Bailiff Service, referring to the need to comply with EU sanctions regulations, imposed restrictions on the building of the Russian Center for Science and Culture (RCSC) in Helsinki, and as well as several apartments where the diplomats working in it live.
