Norway's refusal to engage in consultations over Spitsbergen are seen by Moscow as attempts to limit Russian presence on the Arctic Sea archipelago and jeopardizes Russian-Norwegian relations, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Thursday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th February, 2020) Norway's refusal to engage in consultations over Spitsbergen are seen by Moscow as attempts to limit Russian presence on the Arctic Sea archipelago and jeopardizes Russian-Norwegian relations, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Thursday.
"Oslo's policy in limiting Russian presence on Spitsbergen directly jeopardizes bilateral relations, we do not understand the stubborn reluctance of Norwegian authorities to overcome this negativity," Zakharova told reporters at a weekly briefing.
The spokeswoman was speaking about Oslo's refusal to hold a bilateral meetings to discuss various issues relating to Spitsbergen on the occasion of 100 years of joint administration of the Arctic archipelago by both countries.
