Asylum seekers have started entering Europe through the Arctic border with Russia:
I’m afraid Putin might follow in the footsteps of Erdogan and get Europeans to accept his war-mongering in return for keeping asylum seekers away from Europe’s borders.
I’m sure we can all agree that the Marshall Plan that rebuilt Europe after WWII was a good thing. However, it created this sad mindset which leads Europeans always to look to somebody else to solve their problems.
Here’s an article in Finnish on the agreement from Helsingin Sanomat:
http://www.hs.fi/ulkomaat/a1458636347379
It sounds more like a normalisation of past practices than it does any major change.
In particular:
“Aiemmin Venäjä ei päästänyt Suomen rajalle asti ihmisiä, joilla ei ollut Suomen vaatimia asiakirjoja, kuten viisumia. Nyt tähän on palattu, eikä Suomeen ole maaliskuun alun jälkeen juuri saapunut turvapaikanhakijoita Venäjän kautta.
Putin sanoikin tiistaina, että ongelma on nyt ratkaistu.”
English version:
“In the past Russia has not allowed to pass through the border those who do not have the documents required by Finland, such as visas. Now this has been reverted, and since the beginning of March asylum seekers in Finland have been arriving through Russia.
“Putin said on Tuesday that this problem has now been resolved.”
Keep in mind that Finnish/Russian relations are not generally chilly, and that some of the rest of the article mentions that the Finnish don’t necessarily like the trade sanctions, although the Finnish president does want the terms of the Eastern Ukraine peace agreement to be followed.
LikeLike
A conservative literary critic and college professor
Clarissa's Blog 
Leave a comment