STOCKHOLM, August 29. /TASS/. Applications to obtain a visa to Finland will again be accepted by VFS Global visa centers in St. Petersburg, the Finnish Foreign Ministry said.

"As of 1 September 2023, Finland’s Embassy in Moscow will take on the duties for consular and entry matters previously handled in St. Petersburg. Applications for a visa to Finland may be submitted at VFS Global Visa Applications Centers. From the beginning of September, VFS Global Visa Application Centers in St. Petersburg and elsewhere in northwest Russia will only receive visa applications," the diplomatic agency’s statement said.

It noted that applications for a visa will be received five days a week, Monday to Friday.

Earlier, the website of Finland’s diplomatic missions in Russia announced that the VFS Global visa center in St. Petersburg would stop accepting visa applications on August 1, 2023 due to the lack of resources.

On July 6, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that the ministry had summoned Finnish Ambassador to Moscow Antti Helantera so that it could deliver a strong protest against Helsinki’s anti-Russian policy. The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that, in response to Finland’s anti-Russian policy course, Moscow would revoke its consent to the operation of Finland’s consulate general in the city of St. Petersburg, effective October 1, and would expel nine Finnish diplomats.