Norway will no longer send migrants that arrived from Arctic Russia by bicycle back across the border in mid-winter on the same mode of transport, according to local authorities on Thursday, since Russia has agreed to send buses for their return, according to The Daily Star.
"Russian authorities recently confirmed that foreign citizens with permanent residency or a multiple-entry visa can be sent back by bus," Norwegian police said in a statement.
The Norwegian government has refused to grant asylum to the refugees who have entered from Russia, deciding that migrants who were legally living in Russia, or entered there legally, should be returned. Police districts across Norway had been ordered to gather up and repair bikes that were abandoned by incoming refugees near the Storskog border crossing last year to use as transportation for their return, according to The Independent.
"We asked that the bikes which were left behind or claimed by the police to be gathered up for use by the foreigners who will be returned to Russia," Jan Erik Thomassen, a section head from Norway's National Police Directorate, said. "I can understand that it feels a bit awkward and odd."
About 5,500 people, mostly Syrians, cycled through the Skorskog crossing in 2015 to take advantage of a loophole in border rules. While Russia does not allow people to cross on foot and Norway does not let in drivers carrying people without documents, bicycles are permitted at both ends, according to The Guardian.
Although they must cycle in arctic conditions, and with reports that Russian business owners are charging several hundred U.S. dollars for a bicycle and a ride to the border, the route is still far cheaper and safer than being smuggled across the Mediterranean.
