MARKKU ULANDER/Getty Images
- Finland has pledged to ban most Russians from buying property in the country.
- It comes after a deterioration in relations between the countries, which share a long border.
- Finland has aligned itself more with the West since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
Finland is proposing to ban most Russian nationals from buying property there as the two countries' relations continue to deteriorate since the invasion of Ukraine.
Though the new policy does not name Russia specifically, Finnish Defense Minister Antti Häkkänen told a press conference it would apply to citizens of countries that violate the "territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of another state and could threaten Finland's security."
On Monday, Finnish Defense Minister Antti Häkkänen told reporters that it was in response to Russia's "war of aggression." He also said Finland was already monitoring around 3,500 Finnish properties linked to Russian owners.
Relations between Finland and Russia, which share an 830-mile border, have declined markedly since the latter invaded Ukraine in 2022. Finland remained unaligned for decades but joined NATO as a full member in April 2023.
In 2022, President Joe Biden commented that Russia hoped the invasion of Ukraine would mean the "Finlandization of NATO," but it had instead meant the "NATO-ization of Finland."
The word "Finlandization" comes from Finland's position of being unaligned during the Cold War and refers to a small country being neutral on the actions of a larger neighbor for fear of retaliation.
At the press conference, Häkkänen added that the government expects to submit a draft law to parliament by the end of the year.
Dual citizens or Russians who are permanently resident in EU countries would not be affected, he said.
A Finnish Ministry of Defence representative told BI that the proposal is focused "solely on future acquisitions."
The move comes after Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo told Bloomberg that it was a "potential security threat" for properties near critical infrastructure to be owned by Russians.
Finland has also enacted legislation in 2020 permitting the government to block real-estate transactions on national security grounds.
In 2022, the country's defense ministry stopped three Russian nationals from buying a former nursing home near an army site, Finnish national broadcaster Yle reported.
In July this year, Finland passed a temporary law allowing border guards to block migrants trying to cross from Russia. It accused Russia of deliberately sending large groups of asylum seekers over the border, something Russia denies.