Stoltenberg, Putin to discuss High North, business cooperation
Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg will on 19 May meet with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Moscow. The High North and business cooperation will be on top of the agenda, Norwegian media reports.
The two leaders will have two meetings, one of them a lunch meeting, newspaper Dagbladet reports.
The controversial Telenor-case is likely to be a main issue for discussion. The Norwegian telecom giant has for years been in a corporate conflict with the Russian Alfa Group over control over the Vimplecom company. As BarentsObserver previously reported, a Russian court verdict earlier this year arrested Telenor’s shares in Vimpelcom, thus threatening the company’s .
Stoltenberg and Putin will also discuss the two countries’ High North. Norway and Russia share a 196 km long land border, as well as huge sea areas in the Barents Sea.
Among the High North issues for discussion will most probably be the Shtokman field, as well as proposed mechanisms for facilitated cross-border travel in the Norwegian-Russia border areas.
Nobody expects that the meeting will be a breakthrough in talks over the 175,000 square kilometer disputed and not delineated zone in the Barents Sea. Negotiations have been going on for almost 40 years with a final compromise.
