ST. PETERSBURG, June 22. /TASS/. The famous Russian film producer Alexander Sokurov was not allowed into Finland, from where he was going to fly to Milan for a conference.

"I was kept at the border until my plane for Milan took off. I had to return to St. Petersburg, as I was not allowed to cross the border," Sokurov said, adding that the Finnish border guards referred to "a government document."

"That said, dozens of packed buses, and hundreds of cars were crossing the border, no problem," Sokurov said. "They were holding us until our plane to Milan took off from Helsinki".

Sokurov said he had sent a letter to the presidential Council of Human Rights, detailing what happened to him at the Torphyanovka border checkpoint.

The Russian Foreign Ministry’s consular department pointed to the COVID-related restrictions still in place in Finland for foreign tourists, including from Russia, crossing its land border.