"It is very likely that the Russian authorities are heavily involved in the transport operation. Very probably the border guards are involved on their side," he told Reuters. On Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied Finland's accusation that Russia was deliberately pushing illegal migrants towards the border and said Russian border guards were carrying out their duties in line with the rules. Kivenjuuri said access to the border zone on the Russian side was controlled by Russian authorities. "The border zone is wider on the Russian side and these people are not allowed freely into the border zone.

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Persons: Tomi Kivenjuuri, Dmitry Peskov, Jouko Kinnunen, Kivenjuuri, Migri, Antti Lehtinen, Essi Lehto, Anne Kauranen Organizations: Finnish Border Guard, European, Helsinki, Reuters, Finland's Border Guard, Lapland Border Guards, Russian, Asylum Unit, Thomson Locations: Finland, HELSINKI, Russia, Yemen, Somalia, Syria, Iraq, Helsinki, Moscow, Finnish, Vartius, Russian, Afghanistan, Morocco