Finland‘s Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said Wednesday that Russia had frozen in late April the bank accounts of its embassy in Moscow and consulate in Saint Petersburg.
“The accounts of the Finnish missions in Russia are frozen and cannot be used at the moment,” Haavisto told a press conference, adding that Finland had been in contact with Russian authorities.
“A note was sent to Russia on this issue. Russia has not yet given an official explanation why the accounts have been frozen,” Haavisto said.
The foreign minister noted that Finland had not frozen the accounts of Russian diplomatic missions in Finland.
The freeze coincided with the announcement by Finnish state-owned utility Fortum that control of its Russian subsidiary had been seized by Moscow, after President Vladimir Putin signed a presidential decree approving the takeover.
So far, Finnish representatives have been able to operate normally in Russia thanks to their cash reserves.
