In February, police in Norway’s Finnmark province, which borders Russia, called for the Storskog — Borisoglebsk border crossing to be temporarily shut down to prevent the number of refugee arrivals from growing.
“If the flow of refugees gets out of control, the fence will help,” the NRK broadcaster quoted Katrine Haetta, police chief for Norway’s Finnmark province, as saying.
According to the broadcaster, the Norwegian authorities have informed the Russian side about the planned move. According to Norwegian police, the fence will not affect the normal functioning of the checkpoint.
Last year, the flow of refugees across the Russian-Norwegian border grew dramatically, as migrants from the Middle East and North Africa began to use the so-called Arctic route to reach Europe. The refugee inflow caused serious problems at the border.
The flow of refugees across the border stopped after Norway introduced tougher immigration laws in November. However, the Nordic nation fears that more migrants may arrive in the summer months.