MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia said on Wednesday it had protested to Finland after a damaged Russian tank was placed on display near the Finnish parliament.
“Why are they doing this, for what? Why do Finns need this?” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, accusing Helsinki of “Russophobia”.
The damaged Russian T-72B3 tank was put on display on Saturday in an initiative by two pro-Ukraine associations in Finland to remind people of the conflict in Ukraine.
Tensions have increased between Moscow and Helsinki since Finland joined NATO earlier this year in response to the Ukraine conflict, and they rose further last week when the Nordic country closed four crossing points on its border with Russia.
Helsinki said it was responding to a surge in asylum seekers who it said were being funnelled to the border by Russia, an accusation that Moscow has denied.
Zakharova blamed Finland for the problems but said: “We are open to dialogue, particularly on border-related issues.”
Russia will “of course” respond if Finland closes the remaining border posts between the two countries, Zakharova said, without specifying what its reaction would be.
(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Mark Trevelyan; Editing by Gareth Jones)
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