The head of the Finnish Foreign Ministry explained the sanctions against ordinary Russians

Western sanctions against Russia also harm ordinary Russian citizens, the head of the Finnish Foreign Ministry admitted. In her opinion, the West has no other choice. Previously, Russian cars were banned from entering Finland and five other countries Elina Valtonen

The sanctions that Western countries impose on Russia harm ordinary Russian citizens, but there is a price to pay for waging “war,” Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen said in an interview with The Washington Post.

“Yes, sanctions really harm normal people. And in a country like Russia , one could easily say that this is perhaps unfair, because this is not a normal democracy. People really can’t choose,” Valtonen said.

At the same time, she believes that Western countries have no choice on this issue. According to the head of the Finnish Foreign Ministry, Russia and the Russian people understand that “you simply have to pay for waging such an unjust and illegal war,” and it is very important to show this.

This is how Valtonen commented on the ban imposed by Finland and other Baltic countries on the entry of Russian cars into the country. The restriction in the country came into force on September 16. As the Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained, only EU citizens permanently residing in Russia, or members of their families, as well as diplomats will be able to enter Finland in a car registered in Russia . In addition, the restriction does not apply to cases where entry is necessary for humanitarian reasons.

Speaking about relations with Russia after the end of the conflict in Ukraine , Valtonen said that the West hopes that Russia will “open up to civil society and become a normal democracy.” But, according to the head of the Finnish Foreign Ministry, we must “prepare for the worst.” She suggested that the worst thing could be that “Russia will remain as it is, and perhaps even worse in the future.”

The ban was introduced after the European Commission clarified the old rules for applying existing sanctions. According to these rules, entry into the EU countries with personal cars (customs code 8703 - cars for transporting less than ten people) registered in Russia will be regarded as prohibited import . The EC clarified that Russian cars can be used to circumvent sanctions, which explains the increased attention to them. The prohibited goods included more than 160 items, including cosmetics, women's suits and dresses with skirts, shoes, smartphones, etc.

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In addition to Finland, the ban on entry by cars with Russian license plates was also supported by five other EU member countries: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Germany .

The Russian Embassy in Finland recommended that citizens refrain from traveling to the neighboring country in cars with Russian registration plates. The head of the Constitutional Committee of the Federation Council, Andrei Klishas, ​​called for a response to the ban with tough mirror measures.