Finnish Foreign Ministry Decides To Close Its Representative Office In Russian Murmansk

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland has decided to temporarily close the Murmansk office of the Consulate General in St. Petersburg. This is stated in the message of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland, writes the European Pravda publication.

"The temporary closure of the office means the suspension of activities for a certain period of time. According to the assessment of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Finland currently has no need to maintain a representative office in Murmansk, as its main tasks have been significantly reduced. If necessary, its activities can be resumed later," the ministry said.

It is noted that the Murmansk office was founded in 1992. For three decades, its work has focused on immigration issues, bilateral contacts and the promotion of regional and cross-border cooperation.

The decision of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland concerns only the Murmansk office. Other representations of Finland in Russia will continue their work. In the northwestern region of Russia, Finland has a main consulate in St. Petersburg and an office attached to it in Petrozavodsk.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, Finland may provide Ukraine with a small number of German-made Leopard 2 tanks if a wider group of European countries also decide to do so.

On December 27, Finnish parliament members called on the country's government to start supplying Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.