Barents Sea border treaty enters force
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov arrives in Oslo on Tuesday for the official exchange of protocols making the delimitation treaty binding.
The Barents Sea delimitation treaty between Norway and Russia will enter force on July 7, one month after the exchange of documents.
In addition to once-and-forever determining the maritime border, the agreement also states the principles for cooperation on exploitation of oil and gas resources in the earlier 175 000 square kilometres large disputed part of the Barents Sea.
The agreement is a compromise of the two countries claims and splits the area in two parts of almost the same size.
The dispute on the maritime border had been going on for almost 40 years, when a final breakthrough in the negotiations was announced when Russian President Dmitri Medvedev was on official state visit to Oslo in April last year. The agreement was signed in Murmansk on September 15 last year and then followed by ratification by the Norwegian Storting on February 8 and the Russian State Duma on March 25. Thereafter Russia’s Federation council approved it a few days later. President Medvedev signed the treaty into law on April 8.
Tuesday’s ceremony where Sergey Lavrov will exchange documents with Norway’s Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre will take place at the Akershus Castle in Oslo.
