MOSCOW, February 8. /TASS/. The Russian embassy in Norway said on Saturday that Oslo has been violating its commitments under the 1920 Svalbard Treaty.
"Problems have accumulated on Spitsbergen. Our concerns (foreign ministers of our countries have already discussed them, including during the Kirkenes talks in October 2019) are de-facto being ignored, and, due to that, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had to send a relevant message to [Norwegian Foreign Minister] Ine Marie Eriksen Soreide," the embassy said in a statement, posted on its Facebook page.
The embassy said Russia had never questioned the Norwegian sovereignty over the Svalbard Archipelago, including the Spitsbergen Island.
"At the same time, Spitsbergen is not ‘the original Norwegian territory,’ Oslo received the archipelago under conditions stipulated in the 1920 treaty. Our questions are of practical nature, <…> and they need to be solved," the statement says.
According to Russian diplomats, the legal framework, established by the Spitsbergen Treaty of 1920, fully encompasses the archipelago's continental shelf within the so-called ‘Spitsbergen Square’, whose geographical boundaries are set by Article 1 of the Treaty.
The Russian side believes that Norway has been violating its commitments under the treaty by designating certain areas that fall within the ranges defined by the treaty "for licensing rounds for the development of oil and gas resources on the continental shelf."
Those policies by the Norwegian authorities have led to a situation when "Russian companies are de-facto deprived of the opportunity to bid for certain promising areas."
The embassy added that as far as mineral resources are concerned, the situation is practically the same.
The Russian side urges Norway to bring its policies "in accordance with its international commitments" and suggests negotiations and consultations to resolve those issues.
Spitsbergen, the largest and the only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipelago, was handed over to Norway after WWI on condition of preserving its special international status. The 1920 Spitsbergen Treaty was signed a century ago, on February 9, 1920. It fixed Norway’s sovereignty over the archipelago and granted equal rights to more than 40 countries that signed the Treaty to use its resources. However, Norway and Russia are the only countries to preserve their economic presence on Spitsbergen. Spitsbergen can be reached by regular flights via continental Norway, for which a transit Schengen visa may be necessary, or by charter flights from Russia.
According to Russian experts, the Spitsbergen Treaty does not clearly specify the maritime borders for its application, which causes disagreements between Russia and Norway. In 2002, Norway adopted a law on environmental protection, which says that any activities on the archipelago can be carried out only with the permission from the Norwegian authorities. Approximately 65% of the archipelago’s territory has been designated as nature conservation areas. The Russian side believes that unjustified expansion of nature conservation areas hinders economic activities on the archipelago.
On February 4, 2020, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov sent a letter to his Norwegian counterpart Ine Marie Eriksen Soreide, suggesting "bilateral consultations on the issue of removing barriers for activities of Russian entities on Spitsbergen.".