NATO Crisis Update 2- "The follow-up"

On the 8th of December, early afternoon, Lavrov declared that restrictions imposed by Norway were blocking goods for Russian-populated settlements on the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, and threatened unspecified "retaliatory measures" unless Oslo resolves the issue. Specifically, he claimed that Norway blocked supplies of equipment and food at the Storskog land border crossing that were to be loaded onto a ship bound for Svalbard for Russian miners in the archipelago.

In an official press statement, the foreign ministry said that Norway’s restrictions disrupted the work of the Russian consulate-general on Spitsbergen Island and a Russian coal mining settlement.

According to Sergei Gushkin, the Russian consul on the Arctic archipelago, the cargo consisted of 20 tonnes of goods, including seven tonnes of foodstuffs, spare parts and essential equipment to prepare for the winter. Anniken Huitfeldt argued that Norway is blocking the goods in the application of European sanctions adopted against Russia because of its war in Ukraine, specifically: “on the basis of the sanctions that prohibit Russian road transport companies from transporting goods on Norwegian territory”.

Finland’s Ministry of Defence declares that Russian MiG-31 fighter jets violated its airspace.

The Finnish air force sent up ‘an operational flight mission’ and identifi ed the planes while the Border Guard launched an investigation into the violation. The suspected violation happened at 06:40 GMT on Wednesday and the jets were westbound, the defence ministry’s

communications chief Kristian Vakkuri said, adding that the aircraft were in Finnish airspace for two minutes.

Finland moves towards fortifying its border with Russia, as lawmakers authorised barriers

and allowed the closure of the entire 1,300-kilometre border under exceptional

circumstances. The legislation, which passed by a supermajority, gives the government

authorization to build fences or other barriers near Finnish borders. It also restricts all asylum

applications to be processed at designated border crossings, such as an airport.

Finnish President Sauli Niinistö said he is considering further tightening conditions that

Russians need to meet to be granted a visa. Niinistö noted that while rules on issuing tourist

visas to Russians have already been tightened, he suggests that lawmakers should consider

whether to remove a rule that makes it easier for people to obtain visas if they own real

estate in Finland. He said that if the rule was removed it could potentially have a knock-on

effect of lessening the motivation of Russians — as individuals or groups — to purchase real

estate or apartments in Finland.

Making the comments at an Association of Political Journalists event, Niinistö noted that the

real estate-related matter is just a detail and a minor issue of a larger picture.The president

was asked whether Finland should follow Poland and the Baltic countries and close the

border to Russians completely.

"Visas are not a subjective right. So there is room for discretion and, especially regarding

tourist visas, it is quite justified to use discretion"; Niinistö said. He pointed out that other

Schengen-area countries continue to issue visas to Russians, including old ones that are still

valid and new ones that were approved for acceptable reasons.

#NATO