Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre to Moscow
Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre meets with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Moscow tomorrow. The two ministers will discuss cooperation between the two neighboring countries, particularly on fields like energy and economy, and also issues concerning the Arctic.
Norway’s Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre will be in Moscow on the 24th and 25th of March, the Government’s web site reads.
This is Støre’s first visit to Russia this year. A visit to Murmansk and Arkhangelsk was scheduled for January, but Støre had to be replaced by his deputy because of illness.
The upcoming visit to Moscow will be one of several chances for the ministers to discuss cooperation in the high North this year. On the 28th and 29th of April, the foreign ministers from Finland, Norway, Russia and Sweden meet in Tromsø, Norway for the Ministerial meeting of the Arctic Council. On the 14th and 15th of October the foreign ministers will again meet at the Barents Council meeting in Murmansk.
In addition to the foreign ministers meeting with each other, Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg visits Moscow in May to have talks with both President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
President Medvedev intends to raise issues of energy and of the Arctic when he meets with Stoltenberg, while the latter has said that he wants to discuss both climate changes and energy safety in the north with his Russian college. Last time Jens Stoltenberg visited Russia was in 2007.
