Norway will halt the entry of Russian citizens travelling for tourism and other “non-essential” purposes from May 29, regardless of the issuing country of their Schengen visa, the government in Oslo announced.
Exceptions may include Russian citizens travelling to visit close relatives or for work and study in Norway or the Schengen Area.
The change implies that the police can refuse entry to Russian citizens covered by the order.
“They will be deported if they attempt to cross the border. This applies both to the Storskog border checkpoint and at Norway’s external border in general,” Minister of Justice Emilie Enger Mehl announced.
The increasing threat from Russia is the reason Norway is closing its borders. European intelligence agencies have alerted their governments that Russia likely plans a series of sabotage actions in Europe, as it settles into a permanent conflict with the West, reported by the Financial Times.
According to analysts from the American Institute for the Study of War, the Russian security services are likely to ramp up sabotage operations in European countries to disrupt the influx of renewed U.S. security aid to Ukraine. They are also expected to continue hybrid operations aimed at fomenting discord in Europe ahead of the European Parliament elections scheduled for next month.
