The Kremlin said today that the decision to freeze the bank accounts of Finland’s embassy and consulate in Russia was in response to what it called unfriendly actions by the “collective West”, including Finland.

Officials from Finland and Denmark said yesterday that the bank accounts of both countries’ diplomatic missions in Russia had been frozen, prompting their embassies to make cash payments.

Finland, which borders Russia, officially joined NATO on April 4 in a historic political change that came as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow describes as a “special military operation.” Since then Russian embassies across Europe have had problems with their bank accounts and in some cases funds have been seized to punish Moscow for its actions in Ukraine.

Commenting on the freezing of the bank accounts of Finnish diplomatic missions in Russia, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “It is not an initiative from the Russian side. We are reacting to a situation created by the authorities of many countries of the collective West, including, unfortunately, Finland.”

Peskov said that Russia never leaves “unfriendly actions” unanswered, as he described them.

Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto told reporters yesterday that Helsinki sent Russian authorities a communication on May 4 asking Russia to ensure the ability of diplomatic missions to operate in Russia and seeking an official explanation for the freeze, but has not received until now some update.

Peskov said Moscow would respond.

“We will respond to the communication by reiterating that the principle of reciprocity and the principle of appropriate response to unfriendly actions will continue to dominate our relations,” he said.