Finland to extend Russia border closing

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) -Finland will extend the closure of its border with Russia, which had otherwise been set to end on Jan. 15, Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Sari Essayah told national broadcaster YLE on Wednesday.

"The border will remain closed," presidential candidate Essayah said when asked if the border would remain closed for another month.

Finnish media had previously on Wednesday reported that the government would extend the measure.

Finland late last year shut the Russian border to stop a growing number of asylum seekers from entering the Nordic country, and said Moscow had orchestrated the inflow of people, a charge the Kremlin denies.

Some 900 asylum seekers from nations such as Kenya, Morocco, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria and Yemen entered Finland from Russia in November, an increase from less than one per day previously, according to the Finnish Border Guard.

(Reporting by Johannes Birkebaek, editing by Louise Rasmussen and Terje Solsvik)