Norway ready to close the Russian border at short notice – NRK Troms and Finnmark

Finland, together with a number of other European countries, has closed its border with Russia. The government has decided to wait, but is ready to do the same at short notice.

– We will close the border quickly if necessary, and changes can come at short notice. There have been few arrivals in Norway compared to Finland, and the situation is different here, says Justice and Emergency Services Minister Emilie Enger Mehl (Sp).

Instead of closing the border, a strengthening of guarding and preparedness along the border in Sør-Varanger will be introduced. A police helicopter with what the government refers to as sensors will help strengthen preparedness in the area.

– The police have good control at Storskog, and now their presence in the border area is also being strengthened outside the border station. The police helicopter is a useful tool for monitoring the border area from the Norwegian side, says Mehl.

Low traffic compared to Finland

From Sunday to Thursday this week, 1,481 people had crossed the border from Russia to Norway. The vast majority had tourist visas issued by countries in Schengen other than Norway, according to the police.

At Storskog border station, traffic appears lower today than earlier in the week.

The Norwegian authorities tightened the possibility of obtaining tourist visas already in May, after a doubling in the number of asylum applications from Russian citizens.

Warn against closing

Locally in the border municipality, many of the residents have formed a circle around Russians escaping from Russia.

The Labor Party in Kirkenes has been critical of closing the border.

– It is often oppositionists who fear for their lives who want to come here to the country. If we shut them out now, I’m afraid it reinforces Putin’s propaganda story about a West that wants the Russian population to hurt, said Guro Brandshaug in the Sør-Varanger Labor Party to NRK on Thursday.