Summary of the case: Norway has approved a controversial research trip by the Russian vessel “Akademik Mstislav Keldysh” off the coast of Finnmark. Researcher Gunhild Gjørv believes that Russia may have a geopolitical agenda with the voyage, and may be an attempt to get Norway to break the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. According to Gjørv, Russia uses the West’s own values, and international agreements, to create room for action for its own geopolitical goals. One such geopolitical goal could be to cancel the Norwegian-Russian dividing line agreement from 2010. The dividing line agreement from 2010, which delimits the sea and seabed areas between Norway and Russia, is controversial in some political circles in Russia. Many believe that the agreement led to Russia indirectly recognizing Norwegian shelf claims around Svalbard, contrary to the country’s strategic interests. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. – If we depart from our principles, not least how we relate to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, we also open the way for Russia to do the same, Gunhild Hoogensen Gjørv tells news. She is professor of security studies and geopolitics at UiT – Norway’s Arctic University. Last week, Norway agreed to allow the Russian research vessel “Akademik Mstislav Keldysh” to carry out a controversial research trip off the coast of Finnmark. It was Teknisk ukeblad that first wrote about the permission granted on 3 November. Among other things, the Russian authorities have applied to examine the seabed around Norwegian gas and oil installations outside Finnmark. A Russian research vessel has applied to examine the seabed in a wide belt off Finnmark. The dividing line agreement from 2010 also led to Russia indirectly recognizing Norwegian shelf claims around Svalbard. Gjørv believes that Russia has traditionally tried to use the West’s own values, and international agreements, to provide room for action to achieve its own geopolitical objectives. Such a goal for Russia could be to terminate the dividing line agreement from 2010: – The right to carry out research cruises and the maritime borders are linked, as this is linked to the non-military international jurisprudence within the law of the sea, says Gjørv. Professor Gunhild Hoogensen Gjørv at UIT – Norway’s Arctic University is an expert on hybrid warfare. Photo: UiT Wants to survey Norwegian petroleum installations The research expedition, which was supposed to be carried out this summer, was postponed until November. The Russian research vessel “Akademik Mstislav Keldysh” therefore applied again in October to be allowed to examine the seabed off Finnmark, within the Norwegian economic zone. The application caused a stir when it became clear that the cruise will examine the seabed in the vicinity of important Norwegian oil and gas installations. Researcher Ståle Ulriksen at the Norwegian Naval Academy has previously warned against Russian use of civilian sea vessels in espionage against Norway. Photo: Erlend Koppergård / news “Akademisk Mstislav Keldysj” left the quay in Murmansk in north-west Russia on Thursday 9 November. Ståle Ulriksen, researcher at the Naval Academy, tells Teknisk Ukebladet that he is skeptical that the postponed research cruise will now be carried out. – I think it’s quite incredible that people still give permission for one and the other when you look at the development in the world and the development in our immediate areas, says researcher Ståle Ulriksen at the Norwegian Naval Academy to the magazine. The law of the sea: – A core Norwegian interest The Ministry of Foreign Affairs informs news that they have limited opportunities to refuse Russian research expeditions outside their own territorial waters: – It is a core Norwegian interest to maintain respect for the law of the sea and other international law, writes spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mathias Rongved in an e-mail. Norwegian territorial waters extend 12 nautical miles outside the fjord line. – In the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, it is stipulated that all states shall have the right to conduct scientific marine research subject to the rights and obligations other states have, writes Rongved further. Neither Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide, nor any of the state secretaries in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs wish to comment on the matter. Nor has the Russian embassy in Norway responded to news’s inquiries. This is how the Convention on the Law of the Sea affects the dividing line agreement: The Convention on the Law of the Sea is a comprehensive international agreement that regulates the use of the seas, including fishing, oil extraction, environmental protection, navigation and territorial boundaries. The convention establishes clear rules about which states have the right to resources in the sea, who has jurisdiction over different parts of the sea, and which laws apply in international waters. The Convention on the Law of the Sea is critical for countries like Norway, where the fishing and oil industry has contributed to national wealth by securing the country’s rights to marine resources off the coast. The convention promotes global consensus and protects small countries by preventing the military power of larger nations from dominating maritime law decisions. The sea is divided into different legal zones, including internal waters, territorial waters, adjacent zones, economic zones and high seas, with varying degrees of sovereignty and rights for Norway and other coastal states. Disputes between countries on maritime law issues are resolved at the International Court of Law of the Sea in Hamburg, which was established in 1996 to deal with such disputes. Both Norway and Russia, together with 166 other countries, have signed the Convention on the Law of the Sea. The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea provides a legal framework for establishing dividing lines between states’ exclusive economic zones (EEZ) and continental shelves. The dividing line agreement from 2010 delimits the sea and seabed areas between the two countries and is in accordance with the principles of the Convention on the Law of the Sea. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi, based on the websites of the UN association. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. The dividing line agreement between Norway and Russia was signed in Murmansk in 2010. Anger in Russia over the dividing line agreement Since the 1960s, Norway and Russia, then the Soviet Union, have been negotiating to establish an agreement on the maritime border between Norway and Russia. The disagreement consisted in which maritime law principles should be used as a basis for where the border should go. When Russia found large deposits of gas on the Russian side, there was a rush to get the agreement in place. Russian fishing interests, and especially the Communist Party, believe the agreement was a geopolitical mistake. According to them, the agreement, which the then Russian President Dimitrij Medvedev and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov signed with Norway, will deprive Russia of strategic control over Svalbard and the sea area surrounding the archipelago. Swipe for more: Must first undermine Norway’s reputation According to Professor Gunnhild Gjørv, Russia needs a legitimate reason to terminate the dividing line agreement from 2010. – Then Norway’s international reputation as a maritime nation must first be undermined, she says. – It would be a major blow to Norwegian security if Russia legitimately causes Norway to break the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Gunnhild Gjørv leads several research projects on hybrid warfare and geopolitical relations between the West and Russia. In 2022, the research group she leads and the center where she is a professor experienced what the Norwegian authorities believe to be infiltration attempts by Russian intelligence. Photo: Kristina Kalinina / news Gjørv believes that Russia actively exploits historical events, and events in the relationship with other countries, to achieve international political goals. – Part of the pattern of action is to make use of international events, mixing in elements from history or the present, in order to legitimize one’s own patterns of action, Gjørv points out. – This seems to me to be the case. Maritime law researcher Arild Moe at the Fridtjof Nansen Institute believes that it is unlikely that Russia has as its agenda to use research vessels to provoke a revenge for the dividing line agreement. – I think this has been applied. The dividing line agreement was negotiated with reference to the law of the sea, but it is not dependent on it. It is a bilateral agreement binding under international law, he says to news. Arild Moe is a senior researcher at the Fridtjof Nansen Institute. Photo: Fridtjof Nansen’s institute Gjørv, on the other hand, doubts that formal details of the relationship between negotiations of the dividing line agreement and the law of the sea are important for Russia. – They can easily point to their own interpretation that Norway is going against the law of the sea. Russia therefore does not have to respect agreements with others in the region. They like to adapt the facts to their own advantage, as part of their disinformation and influence campaigns, she says. She believes the “edited” Russian narrative works in parts of the world where the West has already lost credibility and trust. – Little “half-truths” are used to justify their actions, not least when there is a violation of international law. We see this in Ukraine, for example, believes Gjørv. This is how the cruise will be carried out: Photo: Eskild Johansen / Eskild Johansen On 2 November 2023, the Russian embassy was sent consent for a scientific ocean research cruise with the vessel “Akademisk Mstislav Keldysh” in the period 4 November to 18 December 2023. The consent has been given with terms and conditions in a separate permit for scientific investigations issued by the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy. The Russian embassy originally applied in March to be allowed to carry out the trip this summer. In June, the OED granted a permit that was valid until 7 September. Because the trip was postponed, it had to be applied for again. The Russians also want to examine the seabed near the Snøhvit field and the Goliat platform, as well as the gas pipelines between the gas fields and into the LNG plant on Melkøya. The Norwegian authorities have set requirements that no collection of surface sediments is carried out. But the trip will retrieve sediments further down in the ground. The Russians are not allowed to examine the seabed in areas where extraction permits have already been granted in the Barents Sea and the Norwegian Sea. The ministry also requires that they, as well as the Norwegian Armed Forces’ operational headquarters and the Directorate of Fisheries, receive weekly reports from the cruise. Setting limits for the research expedition The Ministry of Foreign Affairs informs news that they have set clear limits to the Russian research expedition. In addition to excluding access to areas where Norway has granted extraction permits to the petroleum industry, the Russians will also not have the opportunity to retrieve sediments from the seabed. – Through the application process, the Norwegian authorities receive information about vessels, equipment and route choices. This helps us to have a good overview of the vessels’ movements. We also receive data and results after the cruises, writes Rongved in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. – This is part of the game Gunhild Gjørv believes it is right for Norway to find a balanced response to Russian research expeditions, and rather set limitations to Russian research applications. – This is part of the game. We must ask ourselves: In what way can we maintain our credibility in our relationship with Russia, if at the same time we break international agreements? She believes that Norwegian violations of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, without sufficient documentation that the research is a military threat to Norway, would be a gift package to Russian interests: – Russia will then be able to show the rest of the world that Norway is violating international conventions, with the aim of: break down international trust in Norway, she concludes.
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Researcher believes Russia’s research trip is a geopolitical game – news Troms and Finnmark
