Russia has blocked the accounts of Embassies of Finland and Denmark - Reuters

Finland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the freezing of "abuse" accounts, referring to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations in 1961. Russia has blocked the bank accounts of diplomatic missions of Finland and Denmark, reports Reuters on May 17. Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Gaavisto said that bank accounts had stopped working on April 27. Thereafter, the Danish Foreign Ministry stated that his bank accounts had been frozen since the summer of 2022.

"Finland embassies accounts in Russia are frozen, and they cannot be used at this time," Gaavisto said, adding that the Embassy and the Consulate of Finland in Russia used cash reserves for payments. Gaavisto stated that freezing of accounts was a "bullying", referring to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations in 1961, designed to protect diplomatic missions abroad.

Finland sent a note to the Russian authorities with a request to ensure the possibility of functioning of missions and an official explanation of the reasons for freezing accounts. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation replied that they consider these actions legal, as they reflect the policy on the Russian Federation. "These actions are a mirror response to similar restrictions on Russian foreign institutions," the message reads.

The Denmark Ministry has stated that the restrictions imposed by the Russian authorities have led to the blocking of the embassy bank cards, but it continues to pay their salaries to employees and pay accounts. Recall that at the end of April, Sweden and Finland have transferred their Navy to combat readiness, because, according to countries, Russian warships not only intend to damage the wind power plants located in the country, but also consider plans to start an attack on the Aldands.