– It is not an empty threat, says senior researcher Julie Wilhelmsen at Nupi. Norway has introduced extensive sanctions against Russia following the invasion of Ukraine. In 2022, Russia threatened to withdraw from the fisheries agreement if Norway introduced more sanctions. Norway has done that, without Russia taking the threats seriously. Now Russia has repeated them. – Russia has no interest in abandoning cooperation with Norway, says senior researcher Geir Hønneland at the Fridtjof Nansen Institute. On Thursday, a new fisheries agreement was agreed for 2025. Hønneland believes that the Russians have everything to gain from the agreement, financially speaking. – Because this gives Russian fishermen access to the western parts of the Barents Sea, where the fish is largest and most easily available, and is also closest to the markets in Western Europe. Senior researcher Geir Hønneland at the Fridtjof Nansen Institute believes that the likelihood of Russia withdrawing from the fisheries agreement is small. Photo: Matias Hamre More restrictions The Norwegian government has chosen to maintain fisheries cooperation with Russia for the sake of the cod stock. The agreement also includes the right for the Russians to fish in Norway’s economic zone. But since 14 October 2022, Russian fishing vessels have only had access to the ports of Tromsø, Båtsfjord and Kirkenes. In the spring of 2023, the government decided that it was forbidden for Norwegian shipyards to carry out repairs on Russian vessels. In the summer of 2024, there were further tightenings. The government then introduced a time limit for Russian vessels in the three ports. Repeats threat to Norway In the protocol from this year’s negotiations, Russia repeats the threat to Norway from 2022. If there are restrictions on access to ports, the fisheries agreement for 2025 can be “suspended without regard to deadlines”. – It is not an empty threat. It is an attempt to press in a situation where it is known that the Norwegian authorities are very interested in preserving this cooperation, says senior researcher Julie Wilhelmsen at Nupi. – They probably see that the cooperation that Norway has maintained with Russia in the fisheries area is under pressure from Norway’s allies in Europe, and to some extent also domestically in Norway. Russia researcher Julie Wilhelmsen says Russia is trying to pressure Norway. Photo: Hanna Johre / news Norway believes that port access is outside the fisheries agreement. This has also been pointed out by experts such as Hønneland in the past. – Why is port access so important to the Russians? – I would like to think that it is partly symbolic. But then there may also be an opportunity to link other types of activity into the fishing activity, in a way that Norway is not interested in at all. If it concerns espionage for example. news has previously revealed several cases of espionage from Russian vessels. Senior researcher Geir Hønneland says the restrictions on ports in Norway are a real problem for Russian fishermen. – Repairs are challenging. We are talking about equipment that they cannot repair in Russia, so they are dependent on access to Norwegian and western ports. It would have been perceived as a step backwards on the Russian side if this formulation had not been repeated. Published 02.11.2024, at 10.57
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