Atle Staalesen, thebarentsobserver.com
Jun 29, 2022
Norway is violating the Svalbard Treaty from 1920, says Deputy Speaker in the Russian Federation Council Konstantin Kosachev following the Nordic country's unwillingness to facilitate transportation of Russian goods to the archipelago.
The Norwegian decision not to allow the transportation of food supplies destined Svalbard through its border-crossing point at Storskog has triggered anger in downtown Moscow.
The Russians could have shipped the goods from Murmansk to the archipelago themselves, but instead insist that the delivery is made by Norwegian ships from the port of Tromsø.
Two containers with 7 tons of supplies were first sent from Murmansk towards Storskog where they were halted. Like other European nations, Norway has closed its seaports and land border for Russian cargo traffic under the EU’s 5th package of sanctions.
