-A bad Russian signal
The ban on foreigners’ ownership of land in Russian border areas is a “bad signal” to Finland and the EU, Finnish Premier Mari Kiviniemi says. She is supported by Norwegian State Secretary Erik Lahnstein who maintains that the regulations are not in line with the ideas about good neighborly relations.
As previously reported by BarentsObserver, Finland’s Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb intends to ask Russia for an explanation of the ban on land property sales to foreigners. According to the decree signed by President Dmitry Medvedev on 9 January, foreigners are not allowed to own land in Russian border areas. The regulations also concerns areas located hundreds of kilometers from the national border, among them the cities of Murmansk and Arkhangelsk.
Read also: Foreigners cannot own land in border territories
Now also Finnish Prime Minister Mari Kiviniemi comments on the Russian decree. In a newspaper interview, she says that the regulation is a “bad signal to Finland and the EU”, Yle reports.
Also Norwegian politicians have commented on the regulation. Asked by broadcaster NRK, State Secretary in the Foreign Ministry Erik Lahnstein maintains that “it is surprising and not in line with the cooperation we now have”. He adds that “it is not unproblematic that Norwegians are not allowed to buy land on the Russian side of the border, while Russians are free to buy on the Norwegian side” and confirms that his ministry will look closely into the details of the issue.
Meanwhile, Russian politicians stress that the regulation will not harm foreigners investment conditions in Russia. Asked by NRK, State Duma deputy Valentina Pivnenko underlines that Russian laws do not have retrospective effect and that foreigners are allowed to lease land, at least as long as the owners have long-term industrial investment plans.
