BERLIN. July 19 (Interfax) - The Finnish authorities are withdrawing consent for the operation of the Russian Consulate General in the city of Turku from October 1, 2023, the Finnish presidential office said in a statement.
"The president and the Ministerial Committee [on Foreign and Security Policy] agreed that Finland would respond by withdrawing consent for Russia to operate its consulate general in Turku as of October 1, 2023," the statement published on Wednesday said.
The Finnish Foreign Ministry has notified the Russian ambassador of the decision, the document said.
President Sauli Niinisto and the Ministerial Committee on Foreign and Security Policy discussed the situation with the diplomatic missions of Finland and Russia, it said. In their opinion, Russia's announcement of the closure of the Finnish Consulate General in St. Petersburg from October 1, 2023 was an asymmetric response to Finland's earlier decision to expel diplomats.
The country's authorities are also planning to conduct a legal review of the special status of the Aland Islands in the Baltic Sea. As part of this review, the status of the Russian Consulate in Mariehamn, the islands' main town, will be discussed.
Russia is maintaining a consulate on the Aland Islands, which, along with its consular duties, is in charge of verifying the enforcement of the commitments on the demilitarization of the Aland Islands.