MOSCOW, July 7. /TASS/. Russia is looking forward to a bright future of relations with the people of Finland once the country frees itself of its "blinding Russophobia," Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday.

When asked to comment on Finnish President Sauli Niinisto’s statement that the withdrawal of Finnish companies from Russia was counterproductive, and whether he had any words of advice for Niinisto and such companies, Peskov said: "We don’t consider ourselves entitled to offer advice to the president of Finland." "He was elected by the people of Finland, who, by the way, are very close to us as we share a beneficent heritage, and we hope that we will have a bright common future once this blinding Russophobia in Helsinki comes to an end, and it gets over its obsession with completely unfounded Russophobic fears," Peskov added.

As for the Finnish president’s remark that the withdrawal of the country’s companies from Russia had not produced any positive results, the Russian presidential spokesman noted that those Russian companies and businesspeople that have come in to occupy the Russian market niches left vacant by exiting foreign companies, including Finnish ones, would beg to differ with that assessment. "They welcome the exit of foreign companies as they are quite comfortable and happy with the new business climate," Peskov added.

Earlier, Niinisto said in an interview with French newspaper Le Monde that, "not a single Finnish enterprise is now active in Russia." He also expressed regret that exiting the Russian market "did not turn out to be an effective tool." Niinisto added that the West had been wrong in its forecasts back in 2014, expecting sanctions to destroy the Russian economy.

News came on Thursday that Finland would tighten entry rules for Russian students, business travelers and property owners, effective July 10.