MOSCOW - Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday that Finland was making a "big mistake" by choosing a path of confrontation with Russia, state news agency TASS reported.

Finland plans to erect barriers at four crossings on its border with Russia from midnight, in a bid to stem an increase in migrants that Helsinki says has been orchestrated by Moscow.

Relations between the two countries have deteriorated since Finland's decision to join NATO as a consequence of the war in Ukraine.

"(One can) only express deep regret that the Finnish authorities have taken the path of destroying bilateral relations," TASS quoted Peskov as saying.

He said the two countries had always had mutually beneficial and respectful relations.

"Russia has never in modern history threatened Finland, we had no reason for any confrontation. Now they have chosen this path. From our point of view, this is a big mistake," TASS quoted Peskov as saying.

(Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin, writing by Mark Trevelyan; Editing by Hugh Lawson)