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| A border guard officer with a dog controls a vehicle entering Finland at the border checkpoint crossing in Vaalimaa, Finland, on the border with the Russian Federation on Sept. 29. AFP-Yonhap |
Finland will close its border to Russian tourists from midnight local time, which is expected to lead to a significant drop in cross-border traffic, the government said on Thursday.
The inflow of Russians is now seen as endangering Finland's international relations, Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto told a news conference.
Entry for family visits, as well as for work and studies, will still be permitted, he added.
The Finnish government, wary of being a transit nation into western Europe's passport-free Schengen zone, on Friday said it planned to halt tourism from Russia and that a decision would be finalized in the days that followed. (Reuters)
