Finnish foreign ministry summons Russian envoy over airspace breach
The Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has summoned the Russian ambassador in Helsinki following an incident where Russian military aeroplanes allegedly violated Finnish airspace.
What do you need to know?
- Finnish Foreign Ministry has called in the Russian ambassador in Helsinki, Pavel Kuznetsov, after an event involving Russian military aeroplanes over the Gulf of Finland.
- Incident happened near Porvoo, and the Finnish Ministry of Defence reported it on Friday.
- Diplomatic measures have been taken, although the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not yet released an official statement on the incident.
What actions did the Finnish Foreign Ministry take?
The Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded to a suspected violation of airspace by two Russian military aeroplanes by summoning the Russian ambassador in Helsinki, Pavel Kuznetsov.
The incident took place over the Gulf of Finland, near Porvoo, as confirmed by the Finnish Ministry of Defence. Although the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not yet released an official statement, diplomatic measures have been taken.
What do we know about the incident?
According to information provided by Finnish media, including Yle radio and the newspaper "Helsingin Sanomat," the incident is being treated with seriousness.
The Minister of Defence, Antti Hakkänen, emphasised that the border guard is conducting the investigation. However, details regarding the type of Russian military aeroplanes involved in the incident have not been disclosed.
Is this the first occurrence?
This is not the first time Russia has violated Finnish airspace. The last such incident happened in early February when a Russian government aeroplane was in Finnish airspace for several minutes. At that time, the incident took place in the western part of the Gulf, near Hanko. Russia has also repeatedly violated the airspace of the Baltic states, which are patrolled by NATO allies.
