The Kremlin said on Thursday that the decision to freeze the bank accounts of Finland's embassy and consulate in Russia was a response to unfriendly actions.

"This is not an proactive move on the Russian side – we are reacting to the situation created by the authorities of several countries of the collective West, including, unfortunately, Finland," TASS quotes Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin spokesman.

"We always say that we cannot and will not leave unfriendly actions unanswered," he stated.

On Wednesday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland said that Russia had frozen the accounts of the country's representative offices, forcing the diplomatic missions to make all payments in cash.

Finland, which shares a long border with Russia, officially joined NATO on 4 April in a historic policy shift prompted by Russia's war against Ukraine.