Norway is considering building fence on border with Russia following Finland's example

The Norwegian government is considering building a fence along the border with Russia to improve the security situation in the country. The fence should help in the event of a refugee flow from Russia to Norway. Source: Yle, citing NRK, European Pravda reports

Details: A similar situation reportedly occurred in Norway in 2015, when 5,000 Russian asylum seekers arrived on foot and bicycles through Storskog, the only border crossing between Norway and Russia.

Norwegian Minister of Justice Emilie Enger Mehl said that the construction of a fence could be one way to improve the security situation. The NRK reports that Mehl was inspired by the example of Finland, which continues to build fences on its border with Russia. She stressed that the construction of barriers is an expensive process, so it is necessary to estimate the relevance of such investments.

In particular, the minister of justice believes that it is also possible to invest in the purchase of drones to patrol the territory, as well as in increasing the number of border guards in Storskog.

The NRK added that it is unclear whether the fence is to be built along the entire Norwegian-Russian border or only on a separate section of it.

The land border between Norway and Russia is 200 km long.

Background:

• Last year, Norway repeatedly declared its readiness to shut down the only checkpoint on the border with Russia if necessary.
• Recently, it was reported that Norway is introducing enhanced border security measures in the east of Finnmark county, where it shares a common border with Russia, in view of possible threats.

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