HELSINKI: Russia has frozen the bank accounts of Finland’s diplomatic representations in Moscow and St. Petersburg, disrupting money flow and forcing the country’s missions to resort to cash payments, the Finnish foreign minister said Wednesday.
Pekka Haavisto said Moscow’s move at the end of April breaches the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and Helsinki has delivered a diplomatic note on the matter to Russia.
“We’re not alone with the money traffic problem,” Haavisto told reporters during a news conference. “Also some other European Union nations have encountered problems with money traffic in Russia. But according to our information, restrictions on Finland are among the tightest.”
He said Moscow’s measure affects, among other things, payment of rents, electricity and water bills by the Finnish Embassy in Moscow and the Consulate General in St. Petersburg, which now have to rely on their cash assets.
The move does not, however, affect salary payments to staff and there is no risk of a closure of Finland’s diplomatic missions in Russia, Haavisto said.
Earlier this year, Finland temporarily closed its diplomatic missions in the Russian Arctic city of Murmansk and the city of Petrozavodsk in the Karelia region — both not far from the Finnish border.
Haavisto — the caretaker foreign minister as the new Finnish government is currently under formation — stressed that current EU sanctions on Moscow aren’t directed at Russia’s embassies and consulates and Helsinki hasn’t frozen the bank accounts of Russia’s diplomatic missions in Finland.
He didn’t see the move as linked to Finland’s recent membership in NATO but rather to Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine.
Finland joined NATO last month as the 31st member of the alliance, a historic move after decades of military nonalignment. Finland shares a 1,340-kilometer border with Russia, the longest of any EU member.
Russia freezes bank accounts of Finland’s diplomatic missions, prompting cash payments
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Russia freezes bank accounts of Finland’s diplomatic missions, prompting cash payments
- Freeze does not affect salary payments to staff and there is no risk of a closure of Finland’s diplomatic missions in Russia
- Finnish foreign minister: The move breaches the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations
Pakistan army chief tells Kabul to choose Islamabad or Taliban militants
- Pakistan blames Afghanistan for facilitating cross-border attacks in its territory, allegations Kabul denies
- Ties have been strained since October, when border clashes left dozens dead on both sides
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Chief of Defense Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir has told Afghanistan to choose between Islamabad and the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan militants, state media reported on Sunday as ties between both neighbors remain strained.
Pakistan’s army and civilian government have both blamed the Afghan Taliban recently for facilitating cross-border attacks in Pakistan, a charge Kabul denies. Afghanistan said it does not allow its territory to be used for attacks against Pakistan and cannot be held responsible for Islamabad’s security challenges.
Both countries were involved in border clashes in October in which dozens of soldiers were killed and wounded on both sides. Officials from Afghanistan and Pakistan have held peace talks in Qatar, Turkiye and Saudi Arabia over the past few months but failed to reach an agreement.
“Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defense Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir has said Afghanistan will have to choose between Fitna Al-Khawarij and Pakistan,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported.
Munir was addressing the National Ulema and Mashaikh Conference in Islamabad earlier this month, state media said.
“Fitna Al-Khawarij” is a term the Pakistan military frequently uses for the TTP.
Munir pointed out that 70 percent of the TTP’s formations that enter Pakistan from Afghanistan comprise Afghan citizens.
“He said innocent citizens, including children, are being targeted through terrorism with the backing of the Afghan Taliban,” Radio Pakistan reported.
While Pakistan and Afghanistan have agreed to a temporary ceasefire, tensions persist between the two countries as militant attacks persist in Pakistan.
Pakistan summoned Afghanistan’s deputy head of mission on Friday and demanded “decisive action” against TTP militants after four Pakistani soldiers were killed in an attack on a military camp in northwest Pakistan.
The foreign office said the Afghan government had been informed that Pakistan “reserves the right to defend its sovereignty and protect its citizens” and would take all necessary measures to respond to attacks originating from Afghan territory.
Afghanistan has warned Pakistan in the past against attacking its territory, saying it reserves the right to respond to such provocations.
