MOSCOW, November 3. /TASS/. Norway’s Charge d’affaires in Russia Bjorn Svenungsen was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday where a protest was lodged with him over the seizure of Russian property at the request of Ukraine, the Foreign Ministry said.
"On November 3, the Norwegian charge d’affaires in Moscow B. Svenungsen was called in to the Russian Foreign Ministry. He was presented with a strong protest over the ongoing arrests of Russian movable and immovable property in the country at the request of Ukrainian companies," the ministry said.
The statement said that the scientific research vessel Professor Molchanov, which was arrested on September 2 by a Norwegian court decision at the request of Naftogaz of Ukraine and some other Ukrainian enterprises, is still located in the port of Barentsburg in the Svalbard archipelago.
"On October 28, the District Court of Northern Troms and Senja dismissed the appeal of the Arktikugol Trust, and the further consideration of the case may take many months. The temporary attorney was informed that prolonged winter hibernation of a watercraft unsuitable for this purpose, taking into account the severe climatic and weather conditions of the Arctic, is fraught with its failure and serious consequences for the environment," the foreign ministry said.
It said that Moscow "demanded that official Oslo unconditionally comply with international law, including the provisions of the Svalbard Treaty, which provides for a freedom of access for citizens of the participating parties to the archipelago, which is currently significantly hampered by the arrest of the mentioned vessel. In the context of the illegitimate unilateral restrictive measures imposed by Norway against Russia, which led, in particular, to the termination of flights between Russia and Svalbard, Professor Molchanov was the only vehicle providing direct delivery to the archipelago of employees of Russian organizations and vital supplies."
"On September 22, according to the decision of the Norwegian court, five Russian real estate objects in Oslo were also arrested. We called on the Norwegian side to strictly comply with the norms of international law, including the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961 and the Convention on Jurisdictional Immunities of States and Their Property of 2004," the ministry stated. - The Russian Foreign Ministry and the Russian competent authorities will seek to lift the arrests of Russian property. The Consul General of the Russian Federation in Svalbard provides the necessary consular and other assistance to the crew members remaining on the ship."