Estonia has accused Russia of weaponising immigration on Europe’s eastern borders as the number of asylum seekers trying to enter its territory and Finland increases.
Speaking at a meeting of Nordic and Baltic defence ministers in Stockholm, Hanno Pevkur, Estonia’s defence minister, claimed the hundreds of people who have arrived at the two countries’ borders in recent weeks were a “fully state-orchestrated” operation by Moscow.
Latvia’s defence minister, Andris Sprūds, went a step further, blaming Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom he described as a “puppet master”.
Since the beginning of November, some 800 refugees and migrants have entered Finland, according to the Finnish Border Guard, prompting authorities to close all but one border crossing and accept assistance from the European border agency Frontex. Estonia on Wednesday accused Moscow of launching a “hybrid offensive operation” on Europe’s eastern border after 75 people tried to enter the country in the space of a few days, a significant increase on the usual number.
At a press conference in a large room at Karlberg Palace in the Swedish capital, Pevkur said: “As far as the flow of migrants is concerned, this is completely state-orchestrated. There is a border zone in Russia that you cannot enter without permission from the FSB. So all these hundreds of migrants on bicycles just happened to end up at a border crossing in Finland in the winter? Come on, seriously.”
He added: “They come from Yemen, they come from Syria, they come from Somalia, and at the end of the day they end up somewhere in the far north at the border crossing with Finland… It’s not very plausible.”
Praising Finland’s response, Pevkur said countries should “act as the situation develops”. He claimed: “These are not asylum seekers, this is weaponised illegal immigration.”
However, refugee advocates have warned that closing borders will force asylum seekers to take more dangerous and deadly routes to seek refuge.
Sprūds said there was “no doubt who is behind” the arrival of asylum seekers at the Finnish and Estonian borders. “Clearly there is one architect … puppet master, it’s Mr Putin,” he said.
Wednesday’s defence ministers’ meeting not only coincided with a rise in border tensions, but also came amid growing impatience in Sweden over its continued wait for Nato membership.
Turkey reportedly told Nato on Wednesday that it would not be ready to ratify Sweden’s membership in time for the alliance’s foreign ministers’ meeting next week. The Turkish parliament’s foreign affairs committee postponed a vote on the issue last week, and Hungary, the other remaining Nato country to ratify Sweden’s application, said it was not yet ready to do so.
“From our point of view, we respect this [Turkey’s] process, but at the same time we have a sense of urgency to join the alliance as soon as possible,” said Pål Jonson, Sweden’s defence minister.
‘As soon as possible’ was also the wording used in the Vilnius agreement, because it’s important for Nordic-Baltic cooperation that Sweden can become a full member of the Alliance.
Sweden, he said, could add to Nato’s depth and strength, adding: “We hope this will happen very soon.”
Norway’s defence minister, Bjørn Arild Gram, added his support. “Swedish membership of Nato is certainly long overdue,” he said. “I choose to be optimistic and I can see it happening in the relatively near future. It should certainly happen as soon as possible.”
Other issues discussed at the summit included continued military support for Ukraine and the defence of critical offshore infrastructure.
Estonia called for more powers to board ships in international waters, and Norway said cooperation with the private sector was crucial after the suspected sabotage of the Nord Stream and Baltic Connector pipelines.
Gram said: “In the North Sea alone there are 9,000km of gas pipelines, there are also power cables and communication cables and we have this infrastructure all over the seabed.
“So we see that this is a vulnerability when it comes to energy, of course, and the gas supply to Europe has been significantly reduced.”
He added: “The companies, the industry itself, are very important players here. They know their infrastructure best and a lot of it is privately owned or managed.”
