Estonia's interior minister has accused Russia of a “hybrid operation” to bring migrants to the border that aims to undermine security and unease the population of the Baltic state.
Over the past week, about 30 migrants, mainly from Somalia and Syria, tried to enter Estonia from Russia through the border crossing point in Narva. None of them asked for asylum, and all of them were returned.
This was reported by the Estonian Ministry of Internal Affairs, writes Reuters.
Estonia is preparing to close checkpoints with Russia if “migration pressure from the Russian Federation increases,” and to fight migrants if they try to get beyond the official checkpoints.
“Unfortunately, there are many signs that Russian border guards and possibly other agencies are involved in this. Frankly, the ongoing migration pressure on the eastern border of Europe is a hybrid attack operation,” said Estonian Interior Minister Lauri Laanemets.
Russia has not yet commented on the situation.
Let us remind you that Finland previously closed all four points at the southern border crossing with Russia due to the flow of illegal refugees from Somalia. Currently, Finland has redeployed its military forces to the border with Russia. If the situation worsens, all checkpoints with the aggressor country will be closed.
After this, the Norwegian authorities also announced that they were ready to close checkpoints on the border with Russia. As the head of the Norwegian government noted, closing the border with the aggressor state can happen “if necessary.”
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