Finland has begun construction of a 200-kilometre fence on its border with Russia to prevent Moscow using migrant flows for political purposes. This comes as Finnish MPs on Wednesday voted overwhelmingly in favour of joining NATO, ahead of ratifications from Hungary and Turkey.
Terrain work would begin on Tuesday "with forest clearance and will proceed in such a way that road construction and fence installation can be started in March", the Finnish Border Guard said in a statement.
The three-kilometre pilot project at the southeastern border crossing in Imatra is expected to be completed by the end of June, it added.
Construction of a further 70 kilometres, mainly in south-eastern Finland, will take place between 2023 and 2025.
In total, Finland plans to fence 200 kilometres of its 1,300-kilometre border with Russia at a cost of around €380 million (around $400 million).
The fence will be over three metres (10 feet) tall with barbed wire at the top, with particularly sensitive areas equipped with night vision cameras, lights and loudspeakers.
Fundamental change
At present, Finland's borders are secured primarily by light wooden fences, mainly designed to stop livestock from wandering to the wrong side.
Fearing that Moscow could use migrants to exert political pressure on Helsinki, NATO candidate Finland in July passed new amendments to its Border Guard Act to facilitate the erection of sturdier fences.
Although the Finland-Russia border has "worked well" in the past, Brigadier General Jari Tolppanen told AFP in November that the war in Ukraine had changed the security situation "fundamentally".
He said the border fence was "indispensable" to stop large-scale illegal entries from Russian territory.
Finland saw an influx of Russians in September after President Vladimir Putin ordered the mobilisation of reservists to fight in Ukraine.
Estonia, Latvia and Poland have also increased security on their borders with Russia or are planning to do so.
Speed up the process
Meanwhile, Finland's parliament on Wednesday voted overwhelmingly in favour of joining NATO, increasing the likelihood that it would leave its neighbour Sweden behind to rapidly enter the trans-Atlantic defence pact.
Both Finland and Sweden dropped their decades-long policies of military non-alignment and applied to join the trans-Atlantic defence pact last May, in the wake of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
However, Sweden has had several diplomatic spats with NATO member Turkey, which threaten to delay its membership bid and chances of joining at the same time as Finland.
Finnish lawmakers approved legislation affirming that Finland accepts the terms of the NATO treaty by 184 votes against seven, with one abstention and seven MPs not being present.
"The vote is an important step on our NATO path. The security of the homeland is a common cause," Defence Minister Antti Kaikkonen wrote on Twitter.
Joining NATO requires ratification from its 30 members, and Hungary and Turkey remain the holdouts.
Many Finnish lawmakers have pushed for legislation affirming that Finland accepts the terms of the NATO treaty even before elections on 2 April.
Only a handful of MPs voiced opposition during the debate on Tuesday
Nuclear presence feared
Markus Mustajarvi from the Left Alliance party -- which has been vocal in its NATO opposition in the past -- asked the parliament to strike down the bill, triggering a vote for Wednesday.
Mustajarvi's criticism focused on the lack of guarantees that nuclear weapons would not be placed in Finland.
"Finland must act in such a way that its actions ease, not increase, tensions between nuclear powers," said Johannes Yrttiaho, another Left Alliance MP.
But Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto told MPs that "this decision and legislation will not change Finland's position on nuclear weapons".
"The time is now to ratify and to fully welcome Finland and Sweden as members," NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said Tuesday during a visit to Finland.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu announced Monday that negotiations between Turkey, Finland and Sweden would resume on 9 March, after talks with Sweden were dropped over a row about protests held in Stockholm, including a burning of the Koran in front of Turkey's embassy.
(with AFP)
