Norway has grossly disregarded its bilateral obligations by joining the EU sanctions against Russian fishing companies, said M. V. Zakharova, the official representative of the Foreign Ministry of Russia, at a briefing: “There is clear evidence of Norway’s disregard for its obligations under the 1976 agreement on mutual relations in the field of fisheries, as well as a direct violation of the decisions made by the Joint Norwegian-Russian Fisheries Commission,” she stated.

Norway joined the sanctions under a pretext bordering on paranoia: “According to those who explained this decision in Norway, Russian fishing companies are allegedly involved in intelligence activities sponsored by the Russian state and targeting critical infrastructure in Norway and its NATO allies’ maritime areas.”

Full text from the briefing of the official representative of the Foreign Ministry of Russia, M. V. Zakharova (Moscow, July 30, 2025):

Unfortunately, the anti-Russian stance of Oslo has been in effect since July 10, when it joined EU sanctions against the Russian companies Norsbo and Murman Seafood (both of which operate in the fish industry). This decision specifically prohibits their vessels from entering the territorial waters and ports of the mainland and from conducting fishing in Norway’s exclusive economic zone.

The fact that Norway, which is not formally a member of the European Union, is almost completely aligned with Brussels on issues of pressure on Russia—even against common sense and to the detriment of its own national interests—is nothing new. However, this time, Oslo has once again, one could say, creatively refined the directives of the Russophobes in Brussels, banning the absolutely legal activities of Russian fishing vessels in the fish stocks jointly managed by Russia and Norway.

There is gross neglect by Norway in fulfilling its obligations under the existing bilateral agreements, including the 1976 Agreement on Mutual Relations in the Field of Fisheries, as well as a direct violation of the decisions of the Mixed Russian-Norwegian Commission on Fisheries. Through their actions, the Norwegian authorities put at risk not only the interests of their own population but also the entire mechanism of sustainable management of biological resources in the Barents and Norwegian Seas, which is based on Russian-Norwegian cooperation in the field of fishing.

It is important to note that, to date, despite political differences, meetings of the bilateral Fisheries Commission have been held annually to determine common permissible catches for major industrial fish species, distribute national quotas, agree on regulatory and control measures for the industry, and approve programs for joint research of marine biological resources. Her half-century experience shows that preserving fish stocks in the region is possible only through cooperation with Russia and by taking our interests into account.

Regarding the suggestion made by the Norwegian authorities for further anti-Russian measures, it can only be described as a manifestation of paranoia. According to those who explained this decision in Norway, Russian fishing companies are allegedly participating in Russian-sponsored intelligence activities aimed at critically important infrastructure in maritime areas of Norway, an ally in NATO. However, no evidence is provided.

These are all classic Russophobic scenarios.

Following this decision, the statements from representatives of the Norwegian leadership about the desire to continue long-term cooperation with Russia in the field of fishing only confirm that, unfortunately, there is no trace of Norway’s pragmatism in its relations with Russia.

A relevant protest was submitted to the temporary commissioner for the affairs of Norway in Russia, R. Johansen, who was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry on July 29. The Russian side initiated the implementation of an extraordinary session of the bilateral Commission on Fisheries in August.

It is important to note that the mutually beneficial cooperation with Norway in the fishing sector has suffered a serious blow. Such unfriendly actions in Oslo will not go without an appropriate response from us.

The Kremlin summoned Norway’s chargé d’affaires in Moscow on Tuesday to protest what it described as “unlawful restrictive measures” imposed by Oslo on Russian fishing vessels operating in Norwegian waters.

According to a statement from the Russian foreign ministry, the protest was lodged in response to restrictions by Norway targeting vessels belonging to the Russian firms Norebo and Murman Seafood, which operate in Norway’s exclusive economic zone under a 1976 bilateral agreement on fisheries cooperation.

On July 7 the Norwegian government announced it would join EU sanctions adopted in May and place both companies on its national sanctions list, citing concerns over espionage and the risk of future sabotage. The move in effect superseded the 1976 deal and removed the firms’ vessels from Norwegian waters, drawing swift condemnation from Moscow that it was “politically motivated.”

In Tuesday’s foreign ministry statement, Moscow said Norway’s decision represented “a gross violation” of the long-standing fisheries accord. It accused Oslo of undermining what it described as a “long-term effective system” for managing joint fish stocks in the Barents and Norwegian Seas.

The Kremlin warned that Norway’s actions could jeopardize broader fisheries cooperation and threaten the sustainable exploitation of marine resources in the North Atlantic.

“If Oslo is not ready to return to fulfilling the conditions prescribed by the 1976 agreement,” the ministry said, “the Russian side will take the necessary measures to protect the interests of domestic fisheries.”

“The Russian side expressed dissatisfaction with Norway’s decision to list the Russian companies Nordebo JSC and Murman Seafood,” a Norwegian spokesperson said.

Relations between Russia and Norway are now cooler than ever. This was stated by the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to Norway, Nikolay Korchunov, at the international industrial exhibition “Innoprom” in Yekaterinburg.

“The level of bilateral cooperation with Norway is currently at its lowest point. This has been facilitated by the introduction of sanctions against Russian fishing companies, which will lead to a significant limitation of the ability to sustainably develop fishing in the Barents Sea,” he said.

The Russian side drew attention to the crisis in the work of the Arctic Council, which includes northern states, Scandinavian countries, Russia, Canada, and the United States. According to Korchunov, there is “no normal discussion among international experts” on the platform, and the organization “is not working at full capacity.”

The ambassador also noted that there is a struggle for the Arctic’s dwindling biological resources. To resolve contentious issues, the parties need to interact and jointly solve problems, including climate change in the polar zone. The international situation was discussed at the conference “Prospects for Cooperation between Russia and the BRICS Countries in Sustainable Development and Food Security,” which was held with the support of the Ministry of International Relations of the Sverdlovsk Region.

Speech of the Ambassador of Russia in Norway, N. Korchunova, at the international industrial exhibition “INNOPROM-2025” (Published in the “Russian Gazette” on July 18, 2025.) Main Theses:

• The Arctic countries are in a difficult situation, facing challenges in the spheres of security, climate, a suspension of full scientific cooperation, and the consequences of crises in other regions. Geopolitical tension, actively fueled by NATO, is escalating.
• The restrictive approaches of Western countries continue to weaken the Arctic Council; there is no full contact between experts, and a number of projects remain in a state of uncertainty. Without a return to political dialogue, the Council risks becoming a “virtual platform.”
• It is necessary to utilize the potential of the UN’s announced “Decade of Ocean Sciences in the Interest of Sustainable Development” from 2021 to 2030 and the International Polar Year 2032-2033 for specialized scientific and research activities.
• The level of bilateral interaction with Norway is at its lowest point. The Norwegian government has made an absurd and politically motivated decision to impose sanctions on Russian fishing companies, which threatens to undermine successful, long-standing cooperation for the sustainable management of marine bioresources.
• The world’s largest cod reserves are located right in the Barents Sea, and this move is puzzling, as the cooperation between Russia and Norway in this field, by scientists from both countries for more than 50 years, demonstrates that coordinated and scientifically-based measures by coastal states allow for rational and sustainable fishing in the high-latitude seas.
• In the face of global competition and climate change, sustainable fisheries management becomes critically important for all parties involved.
• It is important to rationally use water and biological resources, promote the development of scientific research, and implement effective strategies for large infrastructure investment projects in the Arctic area, including those related to the development of Sevmorput. I especially want to emphasize the importance of the current environmental monitoring system of SMP.
• Sanctions against Russia have mobilized the development of the domestic market. We are celebrating significant successes in this field: over the last ten years, the volume of commercial aquaculture production has doubled to 380 thousand tons per year. Today, there are about three thousand commercial fish farms in the country, and more than 4.4 thousand fish ponds have been put into use.
• Russia holds strong positions in the Arctic and advocates for the peaceful and sustainable development of the region. We are open to collaboration not only with Arctic states but also with all those interested in the sustainable and long-term development of the region.

Full text of the speech: https://norway.mid.ru/ru/embassy/press-centre/news/vystuplenie_posla_rossii_v_norvegii_n_v_korchunova_na_mezhdunarodnoy_promyshlennoy_vystavke_innoprom/?TSPD_101_R0=08765fb817ab2000843df34159872095434f88be019411a552d6448dbccbb6cfb49664a090eec1bd08dd126a6b143000d5adfd5a08e7d885ccf0849593229696077490af68c0d4d938776622291c7cad227b016a0a8a78e8a54e987ca386e6ce

Russia views all of Ukraine as its own, but does not deny the country’s right to independence, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the SPIEF plenary session. He called on Kiev to end the conflict, taking existing realities into account.

The head of state also answered questions about the possibility of a mutually acceptable peaceful solution to the conflict in the Middle East, the new world order and the outdated approaches of the West, which continues to ignore the interests of the Russian Federation.

TASS media has compiled the main theses of the Russian president.

The situation in Ukraine

Russia is not seeking Ukraine’s surrender: “We insist on recognizing the realities that have developed on the ground.” Thus, the Russian army “is advancing in all directions along the entire line of contact every day,” creating a security zone, to which the enemy is forced to divert its forces, “which are already lacking in the principal areas of the armed struggle.”

In the Kursk Region, Ukraine lost 76,000 people, “a disaster for them.” The purpose of the attack on the Kursk Region was “of a political nature – to show that they are capable, in order to secure more funding from their sponsors from abroad.”

The depth of the security zone in the Sumy Region ranges from 10 to 12 km. “You know, we don’t have a saying, or a parable, but an old rule – where the Russian soldier sets foot, that land is our.”

The situation in Ukraine is a tragedy, and it is all the West’s doing: “This is the result of the work of those who do not want to put up with the global changes taking place in the world.” The former US administration explicitly stated that it had spent billions of dollars on the “coup [in Ukraine].”

The West tried to act from a position of strength in Ukraine. At every stage, Russia offered Kiev to stop the fighting and negotiate.

Russians and Ukrainians are one people: “In this sense, the whole of Ukraine is ours.” At the same time, Moscow has never questioned Ukraine’s right to build an independent and neutral state: “The grounds on which Ukraine became independent and sovereign were set out in the Declaration of Independence of Ukraine of 1991, where it is clearly written in black and white that Ukraine is a non-aligned, non-nuclear, neutral state.”

About the threats of using a “dirty bomb”

There is no evidence that Kiev is making a “dirty bomb,” but such plans may appear “in a sick imagination.”

Russia’s nuclear doctrine stipulates that “we always respond to all threats posed to us in a tit-for-tat manner: This is why our response will be very harsh and, most likely, catastrophic for both the neo-Nazi regime and, unfortunately, for Ukraine itself. I hope it never comes to that.

The possibilities of conflict resolution in the Middle East

Russia hopes that Israel’s threats against Iran’s spiritual leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to “remain at the level of rhetoric.”

Moscow does not seek to act as a mediator in the Middle East, but offers ideas: “And if they seem attractive to both countries, we will only be happy about it.”

In the settlement of the conflict between Israel and Iran, “acceptable solutions can be found, in my opinion, for both one and the other country: And the countries of the global South, and especially the countries of the region, can certainly have a positive impact on this process, on the search for this solution. In my opinion, such a solution exists.”

On this issue, “it is better not to get ahead of ourselves so as not to undermine” the settlement process, but “there are points of possible contact.”

Russia continues to work at the Bushehr nuclear power plant in Iran and has received assurances from the leaders of Israel and the United States, Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump, guaranteeing the safety of its employees: “Despite the complexity of the situation, despite certain danger, we continue this work. We are not evacuating our staff from there.”

The new world order as the “sunrise”

A new world order is taking shape “naturally, like the sunrise: There’s no getting around it!” Russia and China are not forming a new world order, “we are only shaping it” and, perhaps, “paving the way for this process so that it is more balanced and meets the interests of the vast majority of countries.”

Russia’s decision to develop relations with the global South was made a long time ago, “bearing in mind global development trends,” which are objective in nature.

Western countries are losing their positions in the global economy, and if they “want to maintain their monopoly position at all costs, if they want to preserve the instruments of colonial influence in the world, then they will have to be content solely with the position into which they are gradually slipping by way of these using these tools.” Nevertheless, Russia is ready to “negotiate all issues with them.”

Russia was promised that NATO would never expand to the east: “After that, we had five waves of expansion, we can say six already.” The security of one country “cannot be ensured at the expense of the security of another.”

NATO’s disregard for Russia’s interests is “a remnant of an old, if not ancient, neocolonial policy, to a certain extent adjusted to modern realities.”.

Oslo, May 19, 2025 – In a pivotal moment during an international press conference in Oslo, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre extended a striking diplomatic message: Oslo remains open as a venue for peace talks – even involving Russia.

Responding to a bold question from N​ORWAYNEWS journalist Nadarajah Sethurupan about whether he would meet Russian President Vladimir Putin, and whether Oslo could again become a stage for US–Russia dialogue, Støre underscored both opportunity and principle.

“Oslo is a very inviting city. Anyone who wants to find ways to peace is welcome here,” Støre declared.

“There are venues for such talks – that’s not the problem. Reflecting on his own extensive dialogue with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov from 2005 until well into the last decade. but, Russia has put itself in a position where that is not how it works.

The Prime Minister stressed that “We have to come back to the fact that they have to accept an unconditional ceasefire and start negotiating a fair and lasting peace in Ukraine. Where that happens is not the most important part; what matters is that it should happen” Støre concluded.

The comment has already triggered responses across European diplomatic circles, with speculation rising over whether Norway could revive its historic role as a neutral peace broker – especially in light of growing international frustration with the ongoing war in Ukraine.