Helsinki: Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto on Wednesday confirmed that the ministry received the Russian diplomatic note regarding Sunday’s attack on the Russian consulate in Mariehamn, the capital of Finland’s autonomous territory Aland, and was investigating the case.
“The Foreign Ministry has received the note on the matter. The case is being investigated,” Haavisto told Finnish newspaper Iltalehti.
The police of the Aland Islands had not previously reported any incidents with the Russian consulate and had not commented on the statements of the Russian Foreign Ministry.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday that the Russian consulate in Mariehamn was attacked on Sunday night. She said that “a group of people threw an explosive stun device, as well as other items, into the territory of the Russian foreign mission,” adding that the building of the mission suffered material damage and “the actions of the intruders posed a direct threat to the life and health of the Russian mission staff.”
The Russian embassy in Helsinki had sent a note to the Finnish Foreign Ministry with a demand “to take the necessary measures to bring the perpetrators to justice,” according to the ministry’s statement.
The Russian Investigative Committee said on Telegram on Wednesday that Investigative Committee Chairman Alexander Bastrykin has ordered that a criminal case be initiated in connection with the attack. He also instructed the Russian Foreign Ministry to request the information necessary for the investigation
