Not possible to return asylum seekers who arrived from Russia, Finnish president says – as it happened

• Santiago Abascal, the leader of Spain’s far-right Vox party, congratulated the far-right libertarian Javier Milei on his victory in Argentina’s presidential election. “Today a path of future and hope opens for Argentines and all of Latin America, which we celebrate in Spain with special joy,” Abascal wrote, as other far-right and conservative figures across Europe also celebrated Milei’s win.

• Stéphane Séjourné, president of the Renew Europe group, said Argentina had “chosen to try a far-right populist adventure” but that “those experiments end in failure and suffering”.

• Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, praised Milei on his “clear stance” in support of Kyiv.

• Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Moscow was “waiting for clarifications” from the winner of Argentina’s election.

• Israel’s foreign minister, Eli Cohen, congratulated Milei and invited him to visit Israel to open an embassy in Jerusalem.

• The European Commission appeared to downplay a new Hungarian government campaign that includes billboards depicting the commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, and the Open Society Foundations chair, Alex Soros, with the slogan: “Let’s not dance to their tune.” A commission spokesperson said von der Leyen was “unfazed” by the campaign.

• Daniel Freund, a German Green member of the European parliament, said the commission should suspend preparatory meetings with Viktor Orbán’s government before Hungarian Council presidency.

• Amid concerns about asylum seekers arriving via Russia, Finnish president Sauli Niinistö said that it seems that it has become impossible to return people who did not meet the necessary criteria.

Dmitry Peskov, spokesperson for the Kremlin, said today that Russia was paying attention to the winner of Argentina’s presidential election, Javier Milei.

“We have paid attention to the many statements made by Mr Milei during the election campaign, but mainly we will be guided and judge by what he says after the inauguration,” Peskov said, according to Tass.

“In particular, we are waiting for clarifications on many issues that will affect our bilateral relations,” he added.

Finnish prime minister Petteri Orpo spoke to reporters at a border post in Kuhmo today, amid concerns about the arrival of asylum seekers via Russia.

He said that more measures are being prepared and could be taken quickly if needed, YLE reported. The prime minister also reiterated that the recent arrival of asylum seekers is underpinned by a shift in the Russian authorities’ behavior, and that this phenomenon is continuing.

Earlier, a spokesperson for the Kremlin denied that Russia was deliberately pushing migrants to the Finnish border.

Here are images from the area over the past days.

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Finland announced last week that it was closing some crossing points on its border with Russia, after several hundred people arrived via Russia from countries such as Yemen and Somalia. Speaking during a visit to Poland today, Finnish president Sauli Niinistö said:

When we talk about human rights, they are important, and we want to respect them. But we have to take notice also to national security. And now … it seems that deportation of those migrants who don’t meet the criteria of asylum has become impossible.

The Finnish president has also made the case for close cooperation on border security.

While the European Commission appears to be shying away from a confrontation with Budapest over a Hungarian government campaign targeting the commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, some parliamentarians say Brussels should take a tough stance.

Daniel Freund, a German Green member of the European parliament, said:

For von der Leyen there is only one reaction to this dirty campaign: suspend all preparatory meetings for the council presidency between the EU Commission and the Hungarian government.

Spanish socialist Pedro Sánchez, who became prime minister again after a controversial amnesty deal with Catalan parties, today unveiled his new cabinet – which includes many veteran faces.

José Manuel Albares remains foreign minister, and Nadia Calviño retains her position as deputy prime minister. Félix Bolaños will be the new justice minister.

Coalition partner Sumar got five ministries, with Yolanda Díaz remaining second deputy prime minister and minister of labour.

Stéphane Séjourné, president of the centrist Renew Europe group in the European parliament, said Argentina had “chosen to try a far-right populist adventure” but that “those experiments end in failure and suffering”.

“Europe must be protected from such political disasters. And on that regard, elections do matter,” he added.

The European Commission’s chief spokesperson, Eric Mamer, appeared to downplay a new Hungarian government campaign that includes billboards depicting the commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, and the Open Society Foundations chair, Alex Soros, with the slogan: “Let’s not dance to their tune.”

The campaign has renewed concerns that the government of Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán is using antisemitic narratives for political gain at home.

At the commission’s daily press briefing today, Mamer faced several questions regarding the billboards and a related questionnaire the Hungarian government is mailing to each citizen with leading questions criticising Brussels.

But the spokesperson said that the commission would not be drawn into a debate over the questions. “We have no interest in losing time with that sort of issue in the current international context,” he said.

And when it comes to the billboards, he said:

I showed the pictures to the president. She didn’t bat an eyebrow … completely unfazed, OK? Let’s be clear: we know this is not the first time, it’s probably not the last time, we have business to do. We have crises to manage, we have policies to implement, Hungary is part of the European Union ... It sits at the table.”

Mamer also said generally that antisemitism was not tolerated in the EU, but did not directly address the issue of whether the billboards were antisemitic.

The commission’s response differs from its approach in 2019, when the Hungarian government ran a similar campaign targeting then commission president Jean-Claude Juncker and Hungarian-American businessman George Soros.

Back in 2019, the commission said: “It is shocking that such a ludicrous conspiracy theory has reached the mainstream to the extent it has. There is no conspiracy. Hungarians deserve facts not fiction.”

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Spanish People’s party (PP) politician Cayetana Álvarez de Toledo, who is half-Argentinian, wrote on social media that “Kirchnerism has been defeated”.

She added:

This is wonderful news for defenders of freedom around the world. The happiness of so many Argentines is also mine.

Some mainstream European politicians, including European Council president Charles Michel and EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell, have now also congratulated Argentina’s Javier Milei.

Javier Ortega Smith, a half-Argentinian politician from Spain’s Vox who was the far-right party’s general secretary until last year, congratulated “the Argentine people for getting rid of Peronism and recovering freedom”.

He also congratulated Victoria Villarruel, writing: “You are going to be the best vice-president Argentina has ever had, guaranteeing the country’s security.”